Since being back in the States, I’ve begun working back in our office downtown full time again, which puts me in touch with very interesting people on a day to day basis. It’s a short walk to the gym or to my car, but I almost always run into a fellow young professional, lost tourist, and yes, the occasional homeless person. They are 99% harmless, and I don’t feel the need to carry mace or a shank. Yet. Yesterday as I was in the middle of crossing the street, a young bearded man dressed in dirty rags shouted out to me, “Ma’am you look very nice in that dress!” Those were his exact words. He wasn’t being threatening, and it didn’t make me feel squeamish like this scenario either. It seemed that he was just being genuinely nice and didn’t feel the need to hold it back.
What if we all acted with this kind of optimistic abandon? What if we didn’t worry about what the person on the street would think if we said hello to them? What if we didn’t worry that a smile for a homeless man will lead to them asking for some spare change? This thought process reminded me of a quote from Anna Wintour in a recent Letter to the Editor for Vogue. She said, “Optimism should always win in the end.” Say what you will about her politics or her scandalous decision to put Kim Kardashian on the cover of Vogue, but to me that’s brilliant. Optimism should be the norm, not the exception. A positive, happy outlook on life should be how everyone rises from their bed in the morning, not drug down by the drain of every day life.
How many times have you stopped yourself from doing something because you let pessimism win? What kind of goals or dreams would you have achieved had you simply kicked those negative thoughts to the proverbial curb where they belong? If you ask me, it applies to every facet of our life, be it parenting, work, or personal achievements we find to be just out of reach. Here’s the secret: they’re not out of reach, your attitude is just making it feel that way.
Today, I challenge you to let optimism win. Take the chance to give someone a compliment, without hesitation or fear of rejection. If you find yourself thinking something nice about someone, be it on the street or in the comforts of your home, tell them! Just spit it out! Let’s stop wasting precious seconds worrying and wondering, “What if?” How about we simply let optimism take control and run our life? I have a feeling it might do us some good.
XO,
A
