peter_james_bond wrote: 
Works for me.

I create it when I realize that it feels so much better than the alternative. It's easier to revisit optimism when I remember how much bigger my world becomes when I operate within it....more doors and opportunities and other optimistic people seem to appear when I am in that space

I create it by maintaining a heart full of gratitude for every damn little thing in my life....

It also helps to have goals that I'm working toward....

 hippiechick wrote: 
My stories are a large part of my presence...

you can let go of your's if you wanna...

 hippiechick wrote: 
 
"Its JUST a story!"
 ~ Adyashanti ~

Letting go of our stories and being present.

 oldviolin wrote: 
Me too. Like, every time. I'm smart that way.

I go to the local 7-11 store, I buy a half a dozen Slim Jims, A large Dr. Pepper, and a copy of Sports Illustrated and sit down in the shade...

 BlueHeronDruid wrote: 

Yep. I have to re learn that one quite often it seems...

 oldviolin wrote: 
Giving up attachments to outcomes helps me a lot.

 cookinlover wrote: 
Look down at your torso. It aint that.

 cookinlover wrote: 

the under of over

 oldviolin wrote: 
Define definition.

By overcoming the small sufferings grappled with on a day to day basis, so that when the big ones and the really big ones come along randomly, you have a fighting chance to be able to take a punch and get back up...To have that will toward survival is optimistic by definition. 

 peter_james_bond wrote: 
Sometimes accomplishing or completing anything can help - even something as mundane as doing the dishes and cleaning the sink afterward or scooping out the stinky litter-boxes. Often, starting and completing simple tasks can create more energy to take on the bigger things.  I'm not saying it will make you as happy as a lark, but it can help revive the attitude of optimism once you realize that you can accomplish things.

 Southern_Boy wrote: 
Optimism is an attitude.  That is the key statement.

My response is too long for here and probably TMI, so I made a journal out of it.

 cc_rider wrote: 
That's what I was going to suggest, and now I wish I would have checked that out today.

I was having a very bad morning today, so I forced myself to get up and out of the house. I rode my bike to the library, bank, Radio Shack, grocery and Panera, bought lunch there and took it to a park and ate. That really lifted my spirits.

The world is prolly not any worse off than it's ever been, at least in the past several hundred years. When I was preggers with my daughter, in 1979, the nuclear clock was at 1 minute to 12 and I used to lie in bed and wonder how I had the nerve to bring a child into this hell hole...and yet we are still going. My history teacher used to say, The sun always rises every morning. How is everything in your life right this moment? Are you breathing? Check. Good place to start.

Don't watch the news, or shows about the future, they just scare you. Volunteer; there are always lots of people who would benefit from your kindness. Do something to make a difference, even if it's just a difference for you. And make a list of all the things that make you so lucky to be you, like a hot shower, people you love, your dog, whatever.

 cc_rider wrote: 
That's what I was going to suggest, and now I wish I would have checked that out today.

I was having a very bad morning today, so I forced myself to get up and out of the house. I rode my bike to the library, bank, Radio Shack, grocery and Panera, bought lunch there and took it to a park and ate. That really lifted my spirits.

The world is prolly not any worse off than it's ever been, at least in the past several hundred years. When I was preggers with my daughter, in 1979, the nuclear clock was at 1 minute to 12 and I used to lie in bed and wonder how I had the nerve to bring a child into this hell hole...and yet we are still going. My history teacher used to say, The sun always rises every morning. How is everything in your life right this moment? Are you breathing? Check. Good place to start.

Don't watch the news, or shows about the future, they just scare you. Volunteer; there are always lots of people who would benefit from your kindness. Do something to make a difference, even if it's just a difference for you. And make a list of all the things that make you so lucky to be you, like a hot shower, people you love, your dog, whatever.

Thank you RPeeps, you people are the greatest! There is a lot of wisdom in your replies. I'm starting to feel better already. I will spend more time with my kids, I will shake things up, I will get out of this rut, I will surround myself with optimism generators. But, I don't know about a press conference in my pajamas....or the Dodge...

 winter wrote: