New Year’s Eve is probably the only day of the year, that I know of, where so many people think in a like minded way. Everyone celebrates the New Year with anticipation of good things, good health, and new starts that makes everyone’s optimism overflow.
Refreshing, isn’t it, for one evening where everyone is so happy and positive?
Being optimistic makes our daily lives a little easier. That no matter what happens, we believe that things will be ok. Or even better than ok.
But optimism weakens after our high. After our celebration and hope of good things to come, the next day arrives. One of three things then happens:
- We wait. Hoping that more good will serendipitously enter our lives.
- We get impatient and discouraged because nothing seems to be different over time.
- We continue to work. To push ahead. To not stop but to keep trying.
Option 3 is of course the logical one for us to take but is not the most popular. This third option doesn’t guarantee success or improvement. This is true. Things may or may not work.
Where we get confused is in believing that having optimism is enough for things to occur. Stating that we are optimistic never gets us any closer to our dreams. It merely describes our positive frame of mind as we continue our work.
This is why it is so easy for us to celebrate in unison a night of extreme optimism on New Year’s Eve. It’s easy. We don’t have to be accountable. And many of us will not remember much after a night’s worth of partying.
But life itself doesn’t work the same way. Enjoy the holiday but don’t be deceived. Every day, going forward, will be our next chance to spend the time and put in the effort to make our lives better where more good things can happen.