Be a warrior of optimism

Every time you interact with someone, one of two things happens: either you become more like them, or they become more like you. There is no neutral ground and you can’t opt out.

Recently I have found myself in a lot of interactions where the other person is very negative or fearful. I don't know if it's the economy, politics, or something in the water, but I'm experiencing this a lot more and it's testing my resolve.

If every interaction is a battle, I don't want to give the enemy a single inch.

The future will be better than the present.

I spent the last 5 years reading history, and if you want to be an optimist I suggest you do the same. People who see the future as bleak are idiots, they have no perspective, and they are dangerous.

Our beliefs inform every single one of our actions

A person who is fearful or convinced that the future will be worse will not invest in the future, they will not invest in themselves, and they may spread their fear to you.

Conversely, when you believe that the future will be better than the present it will come out of you in everything you do. It will infect everyone you interact with, you will take care of your health so you can live a long time, you will be uplifting to your family and friends, you will invest your money, you will take risks, you will try to make everything around you better.

Our responsibility to dominate

Avoiding negative people is easy but I worry that the world would be overrun with cynics.

“Optimism is not a belief that everything will be great, but the belief that things can be improved if you work at them.” — Nassim Taleb

and as I've taken this battle more seriously I've decided that if I really want to optimism to win I have to completely overwhelm my opponent, I can't negotiate, I can't compromise, I have to steamroll them.

So lately, I am really shoving the optimism in people's face and forcefully rejecting their negativity.

When someone won't change.

I imagine there is someone in your life who you are constantly battling and it feels like a stalemate. I have some.

I suffered with this for a long time. Trying to drag a cynic into a better life doesn't work and leaving them behind left me with guilt

Recently I changed my language on this. It's two people refusing to bend. You don't have to come with me, but I definitely can't go with you. We are at an impasse, and that's ok, but I carry no guilt. We both chose this with eyes wide open.

What's next?

First, I would love to hear if you are experiencing any of this or if I am just ranting about some weird personal experience that no one else is feeling.

Second, regardless if this is a weird fluke or not it has invigorated me to behave differently. If the economy or political landscape becomes more volatile I already know I will be relentless in my optimism, and I hope this convinces you to do the same.