How long can you hold up a rock?....before you have to run on top of it?

If you buy into the “think positive and it will be positive” hype, you’re probably looking at the current socio-economic situation thinking it will eventually get better. But how do we prepare to take advantage of the as yet unknown future if we narrow our focus towards some preconceived idea of a “positive outcome?”  To me, it’s unwise to think positively or negatively about the future because in doing so we miss the opportunity to optimize the present. Instead of thinking optimistically – think about optimizing your ability to find “spaces of action” where you can have an impact on what the future will be. For example, what if you do a pirouette every time you pass under a certain doorway? It may seem silly at times, but when you think about it, what you’re really doing is carving out a new use for a certain piece of space; you’re having an impact on the shape of the world in the present. While the actual effect may be small, compare this to Oscar Wilde’s belief that “the basis of optimism is sheer terror.” Being frozen – by terror or resignation – into a pessimistic or optimistic viewpoint, is like being stuck holding up a rock believing that ether it will eventually crush you or that you’re strong enough to continue to hold it. Optimizing in the present is running along on top of the rolling rock to see where it takes you. Start small with the doorway thing and soon you’ll find you do it as a habit…then who knows where you’ll end up!? Killin’ It is not seeing a glass half full or half empty, it’s tasting whats in the glass while it’s still fresh.