Optimism.
Genetics, how you were raised, and who you surround yourself with dictates if you view the world as half full, or half empty, and in doing so it can really change your outlook on life. I’m not a therapist but I can tell you that young people in modern society face existential threats that our predecessors haven’t dealt with before. Because of this, people feel dread, and it leads to increased rates of depression and anxiety. Most of this is due to external factors that we all buy into to some degree. We believe, “I studied this in school, why can’t I land a job in that field?” Or things like, “I can’t buy a house, everything is so expensive.” While true, it’s also always been like that, and it will continue to always be like that. The overused phrase “History repeats itself” is true, and is the reason we can’t get out of our own heads.
As much fun as modernity is, technology has really exacerbated the rate at which society changes. Yet, it has always done that, and will continue to do so. What technology has done to young people is made them dependent on their devices. We consume more media, more lies, more truths, more comparison, and more dopamine than most people should in their lifetime. Because of this, the people that view the world as glass half full has grown immensely.
In reality, the market is incredibly inflated, and the cost of living has gone up. Jobs are getting harder and harder to find, and people with depression are growing daily. Yet, what we all forget is that what goes up must come down. It happens every so often where society gets pushed so far to one side of the pendulum, that it swings back with an intensity that shakes the fabric of our realities. We are on the precipice of this and our foundations are crumbling as we hold onto what we thought were truths. As a result of this swing, more jobs and more opportunities appear because of the collapse of existing structures. Though it hurts to go through the experience of walking in the void of the unknown, it also means we as individuals, can either prepare by learning and trying to master skills, or wait and clean up the rubble.
The power of optimism is essentially giving yourself no option but to face existential crises face on. Softening the blow by readying yourself mentally for the challenges that arise. In most cases this is the only thing holding people back from getting to where they want to be in life. Jobs become irrelevant if you know, no matter what happens, you’ve prepared yourself in as many ways possible to take advantage of your window. Not knowing sharpens the sword and when the blade can finally pierce through the stubbornness that is life, the doors open like they were designed specifically for you.
If we all looked each day in the eye and said, “I’m ready for what you have to offer”. We would all experience a profound feeling of presence. When you live your life in the future, you forget to smell the roses. When you live your life in the past, you cling onto fear. We are only ever present, and once you realize this, you can either lay the brick that builds the foundations, or hide in the cave letting the shadows dictate your emotions.
Thanks for reading.
With love,
Kai
Weekly Poem:
Be the life force of your own reality
Be the one who perseveres when no one else believes in them
Be whoever it is you want to be
Just don’t be the person that limits their beliefs
