Do you believe that optimism is an intellectual choice?

Answer 1

yes, I very much do, because all optimistic approaches or decisions are results of well thought actions convened by a set of conscious human faculties. These faculties do so based on experiences, knowledge acquired and factual and sequential representation of governing data. This happening therefore is purely an intellectual choice however low and insignificant in its intensity.
Sometimes, optimism is carried far by way of beliefs and faith but then the efforts to meet the end-result in such cases is always supplemented by hard work and perseverance which essentially require an intellectual support to all actions.

Answer 2

Yes and No

Everyone has some ability to be optomistic but some people are born with greater tendency towards depression or suicide, whilst others are chemically prone to rash optimism.

Optomism like any choice is a skill like body building that takes time. You should start off with small things and work up to bigger ones each time reminding yourself of your sucesses and having something tangible you can use to measure progress.

The trick is to not get fooled by bravado.

Top tennis players trust they can win games because they practice a lot and win many games. Sitting on the sidelines imagining you are star only takes you so far.

Also, unreal optomism can be dangerous. Jumping out of a plane without a parachute hoping you'll think of something on the way down is perhaps a little too optomistic.

Answer 3

Yes, I do believe that optimism is a definite choice. Throughout our lifetime we'll have to make daily choices as to how we'll respond to various situations that come our way. Although some individuals seem naturally inclined to seeing the glass"half empty" I still believe that we can reset our thinking on that and choose to see it from a different perspective.

For me, it's easier to try to approach something optimistically when I make gratefulness a part of my daily life as well.. I try to be grateful for the small blessings all around me. This seems to set the stage for a more positive outlook.

Answer 4

You are thinking way too much these days. Optimism has very less to do with the intellect. Do you by any chance mean that those with lesser IQ are all morose beings? Think about it...My own experience is many a times a simple being says or does something unique and startling which can lift your spirits where your own highly evolved thinking has landed you (down in the dumps)...

Edit: Just saw 'Robot"s answer and I fully concur with his opinion.

Answer 5

No.

Even the most ignorant and intellectually devoid amongst us can have a rather naive optimism about life in general. On the other hand, intellectual "elites" are just as susceptible to a pessimistic attitude when their idealistic views about life are shattered by harsh reality.

Answer 6

Indeed yes, Rena. Optimisim is my disposition to look on the brighter side of the things. Being an optomistic person i see things on a good state for i believe that everything in order is at its best. Therefore if you see things on that way, it is an intellectual decision and i assure you Rena that you know this well too as an intelligent person.

Thanks for asking. Have a great day!

Answer 7

yes, I believe that Optimism is an intellectual choice, it has helped me in some difficulties I have had in the past.

Answer 8

Not on a fundamental level. If you could change it just like that, so many people would be so much happier and more positive. Optimism seems to be more related to your life condition and your basic nature. Some people are optimistic even though their circumstances are horrible.

Answer 9

When we build roads we like them to be on solid stretches of land; we follow the reasons of the land that our roads are supposed to run upon. But any stretch of land is seldom flawless; solid grounds never perfectly smooth or without their faults. There are often mountains rising to skies in the way. There are always some gaps, gorges, gullies, ravine and chasms, along the way, alongside rivers, streams, channels, gulfs and lakes to interrupt the flow of or efforts into a certain success, or to block the run of our paths into distances ahead. What do we do then? Do we always follow the reasons of the land and say ‘oh! I see that this is quite impossible to build this road any further, as the landscape would not allow it, we need solid and smooth ground underneath’? No, instead we carry on. We supersede the reasons of the general nature of things. With our sheer will power, determination and ingenuity, we overcome hurdles and make impossible possible. Where we find rifts way we build bridges to span them, where there are mountains to thwart our efforts, we dig tunnels; sometimes we go round them, sometimes we go through them and sometimes we go over them. The same is also true for all other situations of life involving human efforts and resolve.

I see at least five things here that could claim the credit for optimistic tendencies in humans. First of all, there is human instinctive intelligence, the system of care and caution to tell us of any impeding dangers or hidden opportunities. Our instincts have a purpose to keep us happy, comfortable, alive and well. Secondly, there is our nature, peculiar, opportunistic, innovative but deviant. It is unlike anything else in the general nature of all things. Our nature makes us fights against all odds even when instinctively we know that we are entering a rough patch. Thirdly, there are our genes, billions of them most peculiarly and sophisticatedly in formation, making us what we are, unique and wonderful in our own ways. Our genes are constantly at work all the time just to make sure that we do what we have always done countless times over the centuries - some people could be inherently grumpy moaners while some others might choose to live like sunshine, most of the time. And at number four, there is our mind, educated, cultivated and matured into opinions with all the good sense of everything in the world, intellectual, inquisitive, curious and intriguing. Our mind would like to know everything, both good and bad.

However the best that we can be is what we believe we are, and the best we can do is what we believe we can do best. To have faith is entirely human capability at its best. And with the power of our convictions we can make things happen, we can turn our instinctive tantrums into natural intelligence, natural tendencies into strengths, and genetic mayhems into our solidarity with our ancestral heritage, and our intellectual dichotomies into wise discussions.

To be optimistic, in my view, is to be able to see a choice, to make a decision. It is to have faith in ourselves. It is to be able to believe in superior possibilities in life. It is an ability to cherish a believe, above all apprehensions and logical pitfalls, that at the start of a hundred miles journey there will be bridge on the river ahead, still intact despite all recent floods, if there would be none, we will be able to build one.

Answer 10

Hi Rena, I follow God and the principles of good conquering darkness. On this Earth there are many acts of evil, And people who sin .The lords light will melt away the dark legions and black hearted humans. It is mentioned in Revelations. Humans with good hearts should come to this conclusion.To walk in God`s glory.