What a great find this poem was and I could not wait to share it. The poem is from Christian D Larson Your Forces and How to Use Them book. If you do not know who the man is then you are about to discover a master. I wrote a little Christian D Larson biography and you can read it here. Christian is in the same league as other inspirational authors I have already explored, like Josephy Murphy
In the meantime, I invite you to take a moment and let the words in this poem sink in. I pulled this excerpt from Chapter 11 of Your Forces Book and How to Use Them.
The optimist lives under a clear sky; the pessimist lives in a fog.
The pessimist hesitates, and loses both time and opportunity;
the optimist makes the best use of everything now, and builds themselves up, steadily and surely, until all adversity is overcome and the object in view realized.
The pessimist curbs their energies and concentrates their whole attention upon failure;
the optimist gives all their thought and power to the attainment of success, and arouses their faculties and forces to the highest point of efficiency.
The pessimist waits for better times, and expects to keep on waiting;
the optimist goes to work with the best that is at hand now, and proceeds to create better times.
The pessimist pours cold water on the fires of their own ability;
the optimist adds fuel to those fires.
The pessimist links their mind to everything that is losing ground;
the optimist lives, thinks and works with everything that is determined to press on.
The pessimist places a damper on everything;
the optimist gives life, fire and go to everything.
The optimist is a building force;
the pessimist is always an obstacle in the way of progress.
The pessimist lives in a dark, soggy unproductive world,
the optimist lives in that mental sunshine that makes all things grow.
Wow! What an inspired piece of writing. Larson was a champion for optimism and this truly comes through in his book Your Forces and How To Use Them. No matter what life throws at us, we fair better if we are optimistic. In the words of Michael Beckwith, ‘worry has no transformational value’. Whilst negativity seems to be the default response to circumstances that do not please us, Larson is emphasising that we look for the silver lining in every dark cloud.
But why is optimism important? There are several benefits to feeling optimistic and we all know them. When we are optimistic we feel happier and calmer. When we are calmer we make good company to others. We not only feel good in ourselves but that feeling will shine through to others we talk or work with. The reverse is true, when we are pessimistic we feel terrible and that negativity reaches out to those around us.
Some people think that optimists are not realists. That optimism is some form of denial. Quite the contrary. Optimism is not denial, it is accepting where we are but with the knowledge that this moment is temporary. Optimism is hope and faith that change is on it’s way.
I like this quote from Jane Wagner, “Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it.”
We cannot worry ourselves to a solution. However, feeling optimistic is the first step towards getting out of the unpleasant situation we may find ourselves facing. We can decide which side we are on, the pessimist or the optimistic. It is a choice and a habit.
As you go about your days from now, wouldn’t it be nice if you approached everything with optimism. Wouldn’t it be nice if you were the one to wear a smile when everyone else is cursing. What sort of a person would that make you? I know it is easier said than done but having a willingness to approach life with optimism goes a long way. Having read this poem from Christian D Larson Your Forces and How To Use Them, I feel empowered to approach life differently. When that willingness wanes, I will read the poem again. So if you want to stay on track and be an optimistic, then make the conscious effort to find inspiration. This poem from Christian D Larson Your Forces and How to Use Them book is just one little excerpt from this book. There are several in this book and this makes a great addition to any library. The book is in other words an optimism pill. If you want to add Christian D Larson Your Forces book, you can grab it from Amazon below.
Remember to share the inspiration, we all need it in this crazy world!
