Optimist Sandwich

Optimism and pessimism are two different ideologies to view life with. There are the glass-half-full people who are hopeless optimists. These people are always seeking the silver lining and are bound and pulled toward hope, toward the good, toward turning things around. Then there are the glass-half-empty people who view life with a shadow covering the world. If things are just okay, they can always be worse. Even if something good has happened, something bad is just around the corner. Optimism and pessimism should be a fluid spectrum for how we view life. You need both options and both perspectives to keep yourself grounded while also reaching for the stars. Start making your optimist sandwich now and attack life with its savory flavors still on your tastebuds.

Every sandwich needs bread and the first slice for this gourmet life masterpiece is optimism. With any life pursuit, you need to be hopeful at the beginning. You need to have optimism. If you use a different ingredient, there is a high likelihood you will talk yourself out of ever starting. Having your starting position, your first piece of bread for the sandwich, be optimism lets you at least begin the journey for success. This success is not guaranteed, but you can at least start with hope.

The filling of this sandwich, the peanut butter, the deli meat, and even the condiments you add for extra flavor, is pessimism. Pessimism is the middle of this sandwich. Pessimism goes on top of that first slice of optimism bread. Once you have sliced your first bread of optimism, you have committed. But with your commitment, you need to become more grounded. You need pessimism. The pessimism as the filling for your sandwich causes you to question things. It causes you to poke holes in your plans. It enables you to hold yourself to a high standard and lets you identify beliefs that could have been mistaken before these false beliefs become incorrect steps and actions. The pessimism is your troubleshooting period. It is where you doubt things only to iterate and evolve things. The taste of pessimism does not deter you, you have that first slice of optimism bread to keep you hopeful— the pessimism causes you to bulletproof your plan.

The sandwich is complete with the second slice of bread. This sandwich is not an abnormal sandwich that uses two types of bread. You once again pull out a slice of optimism and throw it on top. You sandwich the pessimism with two slices of optimism. This last slice is a realization that nothing will be perfect but you have to continue acting anyways. Progress and following the path to success requires the courage to push onward despite any of the challenges that the pessimism part of the sandwich may have found. You use this second slice of optimism to keep going.

It is ignorant only to be optimistic and depressing only to be filled with pessimism. Life requires a healthy balance of both to be realistic while pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Sandwich pessimism between two slices of optimism and experience the flavors life will give you when you taste it through this mouthful.