如何樂觀面對生活

　　摘要：假如你預期某事會有不妙的結果，結局也許就真的不妙——悲觀的想法很少落空。但這個法則反過來也同樣成立：如果你自感鴻運當頭，通常就會有好運降臨!在樂觀與成功之間似乎有一種天然的因果關係。那麼我們該?

　　Choose Optimism 選擇樂觀

　　By Rich DeVos

　　If you expect something to turn out badly, it probably will. Pessimism is seldom disappointed. But the same principle also works in reverse. If you expect good things to happen, they usually do! There seems to be a natural cause-and-effect relationship between optimism and success.

　　假如你預期某事會有不妙的結果，結局也許就真的不妙——悲觀的想法很少落空。但這個法則反過來也同樣成立：如果你自感鴻運當頭，通常就會有好運降臨!在樂觀與成功之間似乎有一種天然的因果關係。

　　Optimism and pessimism are both powerful forces, and each of us must choose which we want to shape our outlook and our expectations. There is enough good and bad in everyone’s life — ample sorrow and happiness, sufficient joy and pain — to find a rational basis for either optimism or pessimism. We can choose to laugh or cry, bless or curse. It’s our decision: From which perspective do we want to view life? Will we look up in hope or down in despair?

　　樂觀和悲觀都是強大的力量，我們每個人都必須在這兩者之間做出選擇，從而給我們對未來的展望和預期染上或明或暗的色彩。每個人的生命中都有足夠多的幸與不幸——數不清的哀傷和喜悅，歡欣與痛苦——給我們樂觀或悲觀的理由。我們可以選擇哭或是笑，祝福或是詛咒。我們可以選擇用什麼樣的眼光去看待生活——是昂首去尋找希望抑或垂頭在絕望中逡巡。

　　I believe in the upward look. I choose to highlight the positive and slip right over the negative. I am an optimist by choice as much as by nature. Sure, I know that sorrow exists. I am in my 70s now, and I’ve lived through more than one crisis. But when all is said and done, I find that the good in life far outweighs the bad.

　　我喜歡向上看。我會把注意力集中在生活中光明的一面，忽略那些陰暗的角落。天性和個人選擇是我成了一個樂觀主義者。當然，我知道生命中總有傷痛，年逾古稀的我曾不止一次經歷過危機。但是，當一切塵埃落定，我發現生命中的美好遠遠比醜惡為多。

　　An optimistic attitude is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. The way you look at life will determine how you feel, how you perform, and how well you will get along with other people. Conversely, negative thoughts, attitudes, and expectations feed on themselves; they become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pessimism creates a dismal place where no one wants to live.

　　樂觀的態度不是一種奢侈品;它是我們生活的必需。你看待生活的方式將決定你的感受、你的表現，以及你與他人相處得怎樣。反過來，悲觀的想法、態度和預期也會自成因果：它們是能自我實現的預言。悲觀會製造出無人願望的黑暗處所。

　　Optimism doesn't need to be naive. You can be an optimist and still recognize that problems exist and that some of them are not dealt with easily. But what a difference optimism makes in the attitude of the problem solver!

　　樂觀不意味著幼稚。在保持樂觀的同時，你仍然能意識到問題的存在，意識到有些問題非常棘手。樂觀帶來的改變在於面對問題的態度。

　　Optimism draws our attention away from negativism and channels it into positive, constructive thinking. When you're an optimist, you're more concerned with problem-solving than with useless fault-finding. In fact, without optimism, issues as big and ongoing as poverty have no hope of solution. It takes a dreamer — someone with hopelessly optimistic ideas, great persistence, and unlimited confidence — to tackle a problem that big. It's your choice.

　　樂觀精神使我們的注意力從消極的否定態度轉向積極的、建設性的思考。樂觀主義者更關心如何解決問題，而不是毫無意義地怨天尤人。事實上，如果沒有樂觀精神，像貧窮這樣嚴重而且現正存在的問題是無望解決的。解決這樣的問題需要一個夢想家 —— 一個擁有九死不悔的樂觀、矢志不移的堅韌和無限信心的人。何去何從，由你決定。