OPTIMISM REWARDED

Optimism rewarded – Souda Sihr and Sourayyan  – Photographs Greg Egan www.mythhavenarabians.com.au

When I’m in the middle of writing a novel, as I am now, I become completely entangled in the ‘dramatic’ lives of my characters. You think you’re in control  of their behaviour and their personalities but sometimes everything takes a different turn and the characters become not quite what you anticipated.  At first I wondered what was going on but as more ideas began popping into my head I began to listen and learn adapting the story to suit.

In fact it happened recently, after a bit of brain storming with a friend, when we met for a cup of coffee. Listening to others and listening to that voice in my head was also essential when breeding horses, you know the ‘gut’ feeling you get when you know it’s right. The same happens with writing my nagging voice allows me a little leeway to form the storyline but then it begins reminding me that most people, including myself, want good to ultimately predominate over evil in the world. In other words ‘optimism’.

Optimism rewarded – the stallion Maarhir and his daughter Souda Sihr photographs taken by Greg Egan, Carmel Rowley

I like to think I’m an optimistic person even though life doesn’t always give me easy answers to everything but I’ve found optimism lets in new ideas.

In Barry J. Farbers book  Diamonds in the Rough he says, “Let in one idea and you let in a thousand. Ideas snowball on top of one another; each new idea is built on all the ideas that have come before.”

I think I gave myself a great gift when I figured out how to be optimistic, to look on the bright side when life didn’t quite go right. If things don’t go as planned I addressed them in a way with as little impact to others that I could manage. Over the years I’ve noticed not thinking carefully about what you’re saying or how talking out of turn is one sure way to have people question your integrity or your motives. If I can’t say something optimistic, I say nothing.

So what did I do with my wayward characters? I think I have most of them sorted and my goodness there are a lot of them to keep in control. I have them overcoming the odds, optimistic ones you love and the essential ones that you love to hate …

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill

This famous quote by Winston Churchill suggests that optimists and pessimists have fundamentally different ways of interpreting the world. Recent research indicates that optimists and pessimists approach problems differently, and their ability to cope successfully with adversity differs as a result. Martin Seligman defines optimism as reacting to problems with a sense of confidence and high personal ability. Specifically, optimistic people believe that negative events are temporary, limited in scope and manageable, instead of pervading every aspect of a person’s life.

Of course, optimism, like other psychological states and characteristics, exists on a continuum. People can also change their levels of optimism depending on the situations they are in. The good news is that studies and evidence suggests optimism is a learn-able skill …

Carmel invites you to visit her website: www.carmelrowley.com.au