Monday, October 10, 2022
An optimist can outsmart their own brains. They can see just above the horizon of negativity bias, which is the way most people think. How else could one become an optimist, if they couldn’t have the ability to rise above negative thinking? Life allows us this tiny luxury, to be able to rise above negativity, but only slightly at first. This tiny space of possibility exists in noticing the gap in between thoughts, when the brain is totally silent. Most people would call that meditation. But in that space, the mind is thinking (and doing its best work), just not in the form of words.
When someone says, “Don’t give it a second thought.” I say, yes indeed, give it a second thought – one where you’re not talking to yourself in your mind. The higher intelligence thinks silently. From the tiny space in between thoughts, you get inspiration and new ideas of a better future. If you get a flash of inspiration, something in your future that makes you excited, you’d better write it down, because it’s likely to be forgotten and covered by more compulsively repetitive words from the past. Optimism begins with a small, prophetic spark that can dissipate quickly. The key is to notice!
If you want to become an optimist, pay attention to when your mind stops talking. It will be like a flash at first. Grow that gap into longer periods. To practice, go towards activities that absorb your full attention, and for longer periods of time (playing a musical instrument, reading a compelling book, doing meditation, etc.), or sit quietly in nature, with a mind that has silenced itself from words. Optimism will grow from there, and good things will come from that refreshing space. With practice, you can learn to become an optimist. It all begins with a spark of silence from an “empty” mind.