Eternal optimist

Last Saturday I accidentally heard the replay of the highlights of the “Afternoon Drive” show on Jacaranda FM, and it put a broad smile on my face.  Listeners had to call in and say why “Today was their day…”

“Vandag is my dag, want dis ‘n naweek van brandewyn en braaivleis en Bokrugby, en in die agtergrond die sagte gedreun van die kragopwekker”, one guy laughingly said.

“Vandag is my dag, want ons gaan vir Wallis jag, dan gaan ek lekker lag, en hopelik het ons krag”, another guy jokingly remarked.

I know it may sound silly but listening to the roaring of laughter from the radio presenters in the studio just lifted my spirits, and I couldn’t help thinking – this is the kind of optimism we all need!  As the saying goes – “You can’t be beaten by something you laugh at.”

We often hear people talk about optimism, and how it leads to all manner of good things.  Self-help specialists say optimists enjoy better health, mentally and physically, they have more energy, they look for solutions and are creative in finding them, and they don’t give up easily when faced with adversity. Ah yes, and, of course, they simply can’t walk past a baby, a puppy, or a clear blue sky with puffy clouds!

I love the American author, Robert Brault’s definition of an optimist – “Someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it’s a cha-cha.”

It reminds me of the story of the psychiatrist who had two sons, one was a total optimist , and another who was a complete pessimist.  He decided on an experiment.  For Christmas he filled the pessimist’s room with hundreds of beautifully wrapped gifts and dumped a heap of horse manure in the optimist’s room.

On Christmas morning he saw the pessimist boy sitting motionless in the centre of his room, eyeing his gifts suspiciously.  But over in the optimist’s room he saw his boy filled with joy, digging happily in the odorous pile.  Surprised he asked the kid what he was doing, and he answered: “Daddy, with all this horse dung, there’s got to be a pony in here someplace!” 

…One can’t help but wonder if all this talk about optimism is still relevant in 2022.  Isn’t it idealistic and unrealistic and just a bunch of theoretical nonsense?  I mean, with all the challenges we face with load-shedding, and on top of that the frustration with load reduction and load management, the tough economic times we live in, and the dreary, icy cold winter, it gets really tough to call the glass half full…sometimes we just feel like filling that wine glass right to the top, know what I mean?

And yet, as hard as it sometimes is to look for the ponies in the hectic rooms of our lives, we need optimism, more than ever.  We owe it to our children, we owe it to our spouses, our friends, our co-workers, our clients, and most of all, we owe it to ourselves.

It’s not denying the facts like positivity terrorists, as Simon Sinek calls them in a recent podcast.  He says positivity terrorists are people who insist on positivity and thinks it’s negative to call out anything that’s not going well.  He reminds us not to confuse positivity with optimism: 

“Positivity is trying to convince yourself, and others, that everything is good, even if it isn’t.  Optimism accepts the truth of reality and looks forward to a brighter future, and the fastest way out of a dire situation is to acknowledge what is negative, and then turn to the positive.”    

But how on earth do we put that into practice?  By managing our state of being.  To acknowledge that setbacks aren’t fun but to accept the fact that they are part of life and sort of inevitable.  And to practice gratitude!

Yes, gratitude!  I have a very personal, practical example to share with you.  For the past few weeks, the generators at the studio and at our home have almost operated non-stop.  Although this has been very unpleasant and inconvenient, it struck me recently that during all this, I have only had to drive to the fuelling station once to fill the plastic container with petrol.  Every Wednesday afternoon, while we are busy having a blast in our Cardio Fun class, Schalk makes sure that the generator is running smoothly and is filled to the brim…It’s just something he does, without asking anything in return.

I now think back to that time, long before lockdown, when we didn’t even have a generator at the studio, and on many occasions, I had arrived at the studio in the dark and had no other option but to cancel classes right and left…

Most people who have known me for some time, are familiar with the way in which the pandemic and lockdown have changed my life as well as the dynamics of our studio.  I am so thankful that those early weeks of lockdown, battling to set up our online classes, going to the studio, every day, all alone, teaching workouts on Zoom, belongs to the past now.  And I know it has changed me into an eternal optimist. 

That doesn’t mean I’m always cheerful, of course I feel down too sometimes.  Last week was such a week, when I just felt a bit overworked and overwhelmed by all the admin, the Challenge updates, and the physical strain of many workouts – luckily I’m very sure no one noticed, because the show always must go on. 

I just know that optimism, and a lot of Grace, are always the determining factors to start again, when on some days it would be easier to say: “Stop, I give up – it’s too hard.”  Optimism is what gets me out of bed each morning, it’s what drives me to charge the GoPro camera and record a workout, it’s what inspires me to search for new songs, create fresh content, put together exciting choreography, and write a weekly Blog.

…I am so privileged to be in the presence, every day, of people who love what they do, women who share my love and passion for group fitness.  We are in week 12 of our long 13-week Winter Challenge and once again I have witnessed optimistic women, whose personal goals and stunning mindsets have transported them to a new world of possibilities.

Being an optimist is a choice, every single day.  It’s essentially the choice between coping and collapsing, surviving and thriving.  Optimism is the connective tissue between our last “no” and our first “yes.” 

The bad news is, it’s 100% in our hands.  The good news is, it’s 100% in our hands…!

Yours in fitness

Mirna

082 779 0507