[CHAT] Spring is Sprung! Spring cleaning for your brain.
Ah September, the beginning of spring. The sunshine is starting to come back, the
weather is warming up, and flowers are in bloom… You know how that sounds to
me? No, not like the beginning of the end for all of us fellow allergy sufferers, it
sounds like a pretty good time for some optimism!
Now most of us know that optimism is about having a generally positive outlook
on life, which when you say it like that sounds like a bit of a no-brainer that we
should all have a bit of it in our lives. Unfortunately, sometimes it can be pretty
difficult to be optimistic about things, maybe because there are bad or stressful
things going on for us or there are people around us who don’t make us feel good
about ourselves. Having moments in life where you feel sad, angry or worried
are totally valid and healthy things to experience, but they can become an issue
when they take over how you view the world.
In a world that in many ways in becoming increasingly cynical, some people even
think that being optimistic is a bad thing! These people say that being optimistic
isn’t realistic and that by trying to look at the positives we ignore the bad things
that are happening in the world. I agree that we can’t walk around happy and
smiling all the time, pretending that the negative things we feel and experience
aren’t there.
A little bit of optimism can go a long way though. Working to change our
thought patterns to be more positive through things like self-talk can be hugely
beneficial, especially for people experiencing mental health issues like
depression and anxiety.
Who's winning in your head, Optimist prime or Negatron? Want to learn a bit more about optimism and how we can have more of it in our everyday lives? Awesome!!!
Come and join us at 8pm AEST on Monday the 14th September where we’ll chat about positive thinking and what it can do for our
mental health.
)
alright superstars
VERY LAST QUESTION
8. What’s one thing you saw or did this week that made you feel optimistic?
@FootyFan26 already mentioned about third MVP! woo hoo
Okay, tonight has been amazing and I want to thank each and every one of you for hanging out with @lanejane and I. We have had a blast and I hope you have too. Here is a summary from we we chatted about tonight! And remember if youre feeling down and want to contiue a chat, you can head onto the other forums to hang out or perhaps talk about tough times!!
SUMMARY
- The glass half full concept can not always be applied to every situation. Sometimes, the glass is literally half full of water and air. We have raised the point about sometimes things are just the way they are. Hope is another term that can be used along side optimism. Or perhaps optimism is our perceptions and attitude towards our individual thoughts. Balance and resiliency are also very important.
"And why do we sometimes have negative thoughts? Because we have expectations and the life doesn't always go with our expectations.”
- Being optimistic can be hard work, but it’s worth it. Sometimes its easier to be optimistic for other people, than for yourself.
- Benefits of optimism: happier, productive, mentally healthier, reduces workload, helpful in seeing the bright side, benefiting self esteem
"- you can get more done with a positive mind - it motivates you because you think oh I can do this and look ahead. “
"Smile at the world and the world smiles back at you!
- Not everything in life is always positive or happy! if it was... how would you even know what positive was. You need to good and the bad to find balance.
- If you've been let down in the past when you have been optimistic it can sometimes be hard to get into a positive mind set again. Naturally, you feel let down!
- Everyone is different, everyone sees the world differently and everyone is at a different stage in their journey through life
- The word "pessimistic" has a really negative connotation on it.
- If you're never pessimistic, how can you ever be optimistic? gotta have both for either to exist.
- To pick yourself up when feeling pessimistic: you come to reachout when you're feeling pessimistic too! That's positive. We can always find something good
“imagine if you went to get a coke from a vending machine and a lemonade came out every time. in the end you would not be very optimistic about using vending machines”
- Don't stress if you're optimistic about something and it doesn't quite work out... sometimes stuff is just "bad luck" and it doesn't mean you're a bad person. We all get let down occasionally!
- Remember you have friends and family that can help you out if it is getting hard to find the postives sometimes!!!
And finally... A summary of our amazing pictures and a couple of others I added in! Thanks guys, have an amazing night AND we will see you at the same time, next monday night!!
WOAH WHAT AN AWESOME SUMMARY
and
what an AWESOME CHAT!
you guys have seriously been so active tonight and answered all our questions. it's awesome.
i've actually learnt heaps tonight and i'm glad that we are such an individual group of people. we all make a good team!
thanks @j95 @FootyFan26 @stonepixie and any of our other users still around at the very end of our chat 🙂
What’s one thing you saw or did this week that made you feel optimistic?
@lanejane that was a couple of weeks ago.
Turnbull challenging Abbott.
Hey guys, sorry I’m late to the party!
But I was catching up with a long lost friend from uni. 😄
We’ve all heard the phrase “a glass half full” before when talking about optimism, but that doesn’t cover all of what it can be. What does optimism mean to you?
Uh, excuse me, but the glass is always full! I’m a bit of a realist, or at least I like to think I am. Optimism to be is basically looking at the bright side of everything. Instead of thinking ‘I just feel down the stairs’, you could thing ‘boy I got down those stairs quickly’!
Would you say that you’re an optimistic person? Why/why not?
Well I did just say that I’m a realist. I see things for what they are but I do try to live on the positive side of life.
What do you think would be some of the benefits of practicing optimism??
You can appear happier, won’t dwell on things, you get to yell ‘PLOT TWIST’ when things don’t go the way you expect them to.
Some people aren't really big fans of optimism, saying that it’s an unrealistic way of looking at life. What do you think about this idea? Why do you think that is?
I think those people haven’t heard of CBT. Seriously, CBT changed my life.
Sometimes it can be pretty difficult to be optimistic, whether it’s because of your own life or looking at the things going on in the world. What are some common things that might hurt our chances at being optimistic?
Living with depression and/or other mental illnesses, having a run of bad luck. Illness in the family.
The media only reporting bad things and blowing it way out of proportion. War. Natural disasters and all that other worldly stuff.
On a more positive note, what are some of the things you do to pick yourself up when you’re feeling pessimistic?
Catch up with a friend, watch a comedy, enjoy the sunshine, and go to the beach. Call home, just because.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to become more optimistic?
Write down your thoughts and then change the wording to something more positive. Go and complete MoodGYM.
What’s one thing you saw or did this week that made you feel optimistic?
It was definitely catching up with an old friend. But also, a little bit of public speaking, believe it or not.
@stonepixie your appearance is plot twist!!!!! BUT AN AWESOME ONE.
never have i seen a more beautiful post hahaha
its so cool to see everything answered together. 
When my footy team won the preliminary final and we're into the grand final next week. I find out if I get into the side tomorrow. This was a pretty big positive cause we haven't ever got into a grand final with the current team, it's been a few years!!
congrats @j95 that is amazing!
i hope you make the team. if you don't you will have to dress up as a cheerleader! haha 😄
This is my positive for this week:
i mean for real dude. dont even let a wall stop you trying haha
For some reason I feel like doing that. So I think it's better for everyone that I mainly read.
@FootyFan26 that's some excellent self control you've got there. Have chatted to the person that might have been ticking you off about their posts.
Sorry mate, there was someone here that was outside guidelines. I talked to them about that. Not because of you... but i thought maybe they might have been hard to talk to too. @FootyFan26
