“An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity.”
–Winston Churchill
We all have our share of ups and downs, and life’s journey is a combination of both smooth and rocky stretches of road for all of us. Attitude plays an enormous role in how we are affected by both the good and the bad times.
Optimists make the most of opportunities that come along during those periods of life when things are going well, and they use the memory of those good times as shock absorbers to help them get through the difficult periods. During bleak times, optimists look for bright spots on the horizon that may signal new opportunities for smooth sailing ahead.
Pessimists wallow in misery whether things are going well or not. During calamities, they see nothing positive ahead. They see only continued misery for the rest of their lives. When things are going well, they are suspicious and pessimistic about the future. They believe that just around the next corner or just over the horizon of the road of life new calamities lurk.
In his book, How to Live 365 Days a Year, Dr. John A. Schindler tells the story of a man named Sam who was a hopeless pessimist and grouch, even though he had many reasons to be thankful. Sam was a well-to-do farmer and a director of a local bank. He had a wonderful farm that he inherited from his father, he had never had any major hardships, financial losses or extraordinary family catastrophes, and he had received no blows beneath the belt from unkind fate. Yet Sam walked through life as though utter and complete ruin were just around the corner.
Schindler uses a specific example to illustrate just how hopeless Sam was in terms of ever seeing anything in a positive light. Schindler visited Sam at his farm one July day just about the time that oats were ready to harvest. Sam had a large field of some of the best oats that can be produced. “Sam, that’s a wonderful field of oats you have there,” the doctor said. “Yeah, but the wind will blow it down before I get it cut,” Sam said.
The doctor later learned that Sam did get the oats harvested and that he received a high price for them. So, the next time Schindler saw Sam, he asked, “How did the oats turn out?”
“Oh, I suppose good enough,” Sam replied. “But a crop of oats like that sure takes a lot out of the soil.”
People like Sam make themselves and everyone around them miserable, and they damage their health in the process. All of us have times when things go badly during which we become depressed and complain. But during those times when life is running pretty smoothly, shouldn’t we strive to put a positive focus on life?
Think about it.
***
Copyright 2013
Allen W. Smith
