optimism

I don't know why, but I really struggle to be optimistic. Especially when someone is throwing negative crap at me!
Why is it so important to be optimistic? Why does it seem that everything around us has a negative spin? Do I listen to too much news?
Anyone who knows me would find it hard to believe that I think a lot about what I'm going to say before I say it. When I don't, I think about even more after I say it!
It's an internal battle. Say what I feel or think versus say what I want. So often honesty is not the best policy. Nobody wants to hear that you don't like their hair cut or their new blouse. When someone asks you how you are today, they don't want to hear that you're unhappy or you wished you'd stayed in bed. Such a stigma for the depressed!

However, I am not a pessimistic person. I like to be optimistic. I like to find solutions to problems. I think that if I'm putting out some positive energy, I will eventually get more in return. It's not easy for me, though. Sometimes I really have to dig deep.

"If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all." I heard this a lot growing up. I guess I've always been a grumbler. So what do you do if you can't say anything at all and your thoughts are building up until you want to explode? Where does the negativity go? Can we really turn negative thoughts into positive? How?

When someone asks me how I am today, they'll either hear "good" on a good day or "ok" on a bad one. I envy my friends who always say "great!" Seeing the sunny side of life all the time must be wonderful.