Are you feeling pessimistic about life right now? Are you excited to wake up in the morning and start your day? Are you struggling with hopelessness for your future? You are not alone.
Feeling pessimistic about life is something that many people experience. With everything going on around us, it’s hard not to. When many people become pessimistic, they tend to turn their anger and sadness inward and blame their own feelings. That’s understandable, but it’s not always right or healthy.
Why am I so pessimistic?
First, let me explain what pessimism is and what it isn’t. Pessimism is a mindset or way of thinking that shows your point of view in a negative way. It is not a mental condition or disorder like anxiety or depression.
There are many reasons why someone has a pessimistic outlook. It may be a combination of the person’s past negative experiences or constant exposure to negative news or circumstances. They may have suffered multiple disappointments, failures, or setbacks that helped shape their perspective.
Pessimists may also hold onto this mindset because of their personal insecurities, or because of certain cognitive biases and thought patterns, such as focusing on the negative and anticipating the worst-case scenario. People with low self-esteem, or who struggle with feelings of inadequacy, may tend to focus on their shortcomings and shortcomings.
I hope this advice helps you find the ‘why’ behind your pessimistic feelings so you can take a closer look at yourself and make changes that may make you feel a little better.
Here are five reasons why you might be feeling so pessimistic about life right now.
1. The outside world is scary.
There has never been a time in my life when things in the world felt so abnormal. I’m a big disaster movie buff and most of the movies start with floods, fires, and complaints about the government. And all of them are happening right now.
I think we can all agree that things are changing.there is once-in-a-thousand-year flood Eliminate entire counties.there is Forest fires everywhere Forest fires have never happened before and cause irreparable damage to property and the economy.
Tensions between different sides of the political scene are high, and on both sides of our borders, everyone believes our country is in danger of being taken over by extremists. The economy is sluggish and the real estate market is out of control.
Has this lovely list I shared made you feel pessimistic about your life right now? I’m sure you have. That’s why I shared it.
If you are going through hard times, know that the world we live in is probably a big part of it. I think you are blaming yourself or your love life. When everything going on around you is erratic, it can be, but it’s hard to keep an even stance in your personal life.
You can’t control what’s happening in the world, but you can control what you do in your corner of the world.
2. You have a negative mindset.
We have established that the world is a confusing place and that it makes your thinking unstable. It’s hard not to look at all the horrible things that are happening in the world right now. However, it is important not to be constantly conscious of recent events or your shortcomings.
Our brain is our greatest enemy. They constantly bombard us with negative remarks about themselves. They say we are too fat, too thin, not smart enough, not successful, not loved, no friends, no purpose, no hope. The list goes on and on.
And those thoughts can do a lot of damage, and can be a big part of why you’re feeling pessimistic about life right now. It is important to make an effort to drive away such thoughts. This is to avoid doing enough damage to make the situation worse.
There are two ways to do that.
The first is to push back. Push back on that thought as you go down that dark road. Try to access the truth your brain is telling you so you can get rid of those thoughts and focus on the positive. I always make a list of things that make me feel good about myself. I look at that list as a counter to what my brain is saying when things go wrong. Works almost every time!
Another thing you can do, and it’s a little easier, is to keep your mind busy, even if it’s just for a little while. Do yoga, read a book, go to the movies, hang out with friends. Something that will keep you away from negative thoughts and give yourself a break, at least for a while.
3. Self-care is not a priority.
Be honest with yourself. Are you taking care of yourself these days? Have you ever been so pessimistic about life that it became difficult to feel better? Do you exercise? are you showering? Are you playing with your friends? Are you eating and sleeping well?
All of these things are very important to have a positive outlook on the world, especially if that’s what you used to do on a regular basis. If you don’t take care of yourself, not only do you feel pessimistic about your life right now, but you’re probably struggling with self-judgment.
Interestingly, it’s a vicious circle. Which came first, pessimism or lack of self-care?
So ask yourself if you still love yourself as much as you used to. If the answer is no, then it’s time to take the first steps to make a change. Take a walk, call a friend for coffee, or go ice cream-free for the day. Anything you can do to make life a little better.
4. Clinging to the past.
I’m one of those people who lives with a lot of regrets, and sometimes those regrets can drag me into a very dark place. A few weeks ago someone suggested that when he got there, he should tell himself that he was doing the best he could at that point. Because it’s true. What we were then is not what we are now.
Are you like most people too? Do you have many regrets? Do you regret breaking up with someone you remember being great? Do you wish you had taken marketing instead of English in college? do you think? Do you think your life would have been better had you made different choices at those times?
I know that, but ask yourself. Was that person really that amazing? After all, you broke up with him. And did you really want to do marketing as a career, even if it seemed pretty glamorous? And nobody needs a friend who isn’t kind to themselves.
Also, realize that just because you didn’t make a choice you think you should have, doesn’t necessarily mean that your life will be better if you made that choice. It is very possible that it could get even worse.
So don’t focus on the past. Look to the future. It may seem like a pretty bleak situation right now, but you can control the future, but you can’t control the past.
5. You have no vision of the future.
It’s hard to change this when you’re pessimistic. It is very difficult to look to the future with hope when you are in a bad mood. When our mind reaches a point where it works against us, when we don’t value ourselves, when we live in the past, we become bogged down in the suffering of the present and look to the future. You will not be able to
From this perspective, it is literally impossible to try to find hope in the days to come. And it only makes everything worse.
I always tell people to look to the past to work through this lack of hope for the future. (I know. It’s ironic. I told them to ignore the past.) What I want them to focus on is when things get really dark, when you’re in a scary place with no hope for the future. It’s all about when And what happened to them? In many cases, they survived those dark times and made it through life.
Life has its ups and downs. And although we all hope to find lasting happiness someday, life will still give us lemons and we will struggle. But regaining the strength you used to get through bad times in the past may also give you hope for the future and help you start planning what the future might look like.
I find it hard not to be pessimistic about life right now. But life has its ups and downs, and if you’ve made it this far, you know what I mean.
Just know that you don’t have to do it this way. You can’t solve world events, but you can focus on yourself. Don’t live in the past, don’t let your thoughts control you, take care of yourself and try to envision the future.
You are not in this place all the time. Believe it or not, it’s true. i promise.
Mitzi Bockmann is a New York-based certified life coach and mental health advocate who works exclusively with women to help them become who they want to be. Mitzi’s byline has appeared in The Good Men Project, MSN, PopSugar, Prevention, Huffington Post, Psych Central, among others.
This article was originally published at: let the dream begin. Reprinted with permission of the author.
