American’s Resilient Optimism

I was reading an interesting article from Reuters that was about a Pew Economic Mobility Project survey. The survey found that Americans still widely believe in the “American Dream” as success determined by one’s own effort and not external factors or birthrights.

The nationwide survey of 2,119 adults found that:

• 79 percent said it is still possible to get ahead in the current economy;
• 72 percent said they believed they will personally be better off 10 years from now;
• 74 percent said they were at least somewhat in control of their economic situation, but only 43 percent said that other people were in control;
• 71 percent said personal ambition was a more important determinant of success than external conditions.

The survey has a margin of error 3.4%.

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The mood of the United States and the World, for that matter, seems to be rather gloomy and pessimistic. Hearing the rhetoric out of Washington about pending “catastrophic” consequences if we don’t pass a nearly trillion dollar stimulus bill certainly doesn’t help. The news reports also are upsetting with record job losses, continuing declines in our economy, the loss wealth of many retirement accounts, and other effects of the recession.

With all that is wrong with the current state of the world. I want to share the Optimist Creed. I think one of the fundamental tenants of being optimistic is not about naivety or ignorance, but just the outlook. The perspective that says, I know how bad things are in the world, but for my personal outlook, I am moving beyond the forces of negativity, beyond pessimism.

Getting Back to Achievement

I am remaining hopeful that tomorrow things will be better. In time, the recession will pass and will become history like all other recession and even the Great Depression. This is not failure, but merely a learning opportunity from which we can build a better future. This is not a desolate end, but an opportunity for a new beginning.

This is an opportunity for us to pull out of the mire, gain the strength from this learning experience, and forge a better future without such an experience for another 70 or 80 years. It’s an opportunity for us to set goals that next time we will go a complete century before the next recession. It’s a goal that an entire, future generation will not experience the pain and hunger of widespread panic, but will know prosperity through a stabilized economy.

It is my recommendation that you read the Optimist Creed, memorize it even, and let the optimist in you take over. Lead in optimism, and, then, get back to achievement.

The Optimist Creed

Promise Yourself-
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

The Optimist Creed was drafted by Christian D. Larson, who lectured extensively about optimism during the time of the Great Depression.

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