Being Optimistic doesn’t just mean forcing yourself to have positive thoughts. It means being hopeful and open to the future. It’s a mind set that can help you cope with anxiety.

If you’ve been pounded by the ravages of anxiety then chances are that you’ve had to contend with fear, depression, and pessimism. You may have had days were you just felt like giving up. You may have also told yourself that you just can’t take it anymore. Or am I just talking for myself?

Now, I also want to point out that there is a difference between happiness and optimism. It’s hard to be happy on queue because you can’t force happy. But you can be optimistic by choice.

To some extent, being optimistic means to think positively, but it also means more than that. It means being willing to “hug your problems.” Engage with whatever is stressing you out.

When your anxious the natural tendency is to be negative, closed, and worried. But this kind of thinking only reinforces all the terrible feelings you experience. It prolongs your misery.

“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” ~ Lucille Ball

Plus, research has shown that optimistic people have less chronic disease, live longer, and cope with stress better. This doesn’t mean that you have – or can – throw realism out the window. But you have options when it comes to dealing with your emotions.

The key is to realize that all problems are fleeting. Everything has an end. So, if your feeling nervous, depressed, and angry, then you have to know that this is temporary. Don’t soak yourself in the temporary emotional ruts that come to you because of anxiety.

Be hopeful instead. Hopeful that things will get better.

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