Can you be an optimist without expectations?

Sometimes when we think about the future, we can find ourselves lost in pessimistic visions that create nothing but unnecessary fear and worry in us. Since no one can really predict what is going to happen, I believe such thoughts are better to be avoided. They will not prevent anything and just worrying about something that may never even occur seems pointless if you look at it from a rational point of view.

Now, if we are really tempted to lose ourselves a bit in thoughts about what our future holds or where our current situation is going to lead us, it would be naturally a better choice to be optimistic. After all, if nothing else, this can give us a little bit of pleasure in the present moment. But there is one problem with this approach – how do we prevent this optimism from turning into expectations and potential disappointment? What happens when the day comes after all the hoping and dreaming and we realize that in fact we will not get what we wanted?

I believe there is a way to combine calm optimism with acceptance about our reality. There is nothing wrong in having hope in positive outcomes as long as we don’t attach ourselves to the latter. Keeping a little distance to whatever life brings and always staying open for unexpected surprises, things happening differently from what we hoped for but perhaps in the end turning out in our favor anyway, is something that can help us flow through life more smoothly and enjoy the experience even more. And who knows? Maybe the positive energy we emanate this way will indeed attract more of what we want? In the end, let’s not forget that life is not about the final results, the outcomes, but rather about the journey of improvement and growth that leads to them.


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