Disappointment often overcomes us in the wake of failures. Despair makes us miserable when unexpected things happen. Dejection takes root in our hearts when we see those close to us treating us harshly. Depression is the worst consequence of being continuously exposed to problems in life.

What then must be done?

Human attitude is the key to happiness. The most powerful of these attitudes is optimism. It is like looking for brightness in desolate darkness; it is the drive to go on and never give up. It creates opportunities out of nothing. It sees the hand of God in failures and does not let defeat defeat us or loss deplete us.

How can optimism be engendered as a permanent feature of our approach to life? Here are some tips:

Firstly, in times of adversity, we must always look back in life. We will realize that life was not always passing through testing times. There were good times as well that we thoroughly enjoyed. In fact, we encountered good and bad times intermittently. If this could happen in the past, then all the more reason to be optimistic that the future will also unfold in a similar manner. So why be dejected? Every new day can bring new hope and a host of new opportunities.

Secondly, we need to look around and observe people who are less privileged than us. It will make us realize that in spite of the dark clouds that we find hovering over us, there are streaks of sunshine which others do not enjoy. Life is not all that bad as we thought. All has not been lost. There are still many things that we are blessed with. If we concentrate on these blessings, we will be induced to become optimistic.

Thirdly, failures and trials can be used to our own advantage. If we have a positive attitude, we will find our selves calling on our latent potential to combat the situation. Only then we may realize that we have been blessed with certain powers and abilities that could only come to surface in times of crisis. We come out stronger and better than before. Our resilience increases and we become equipped to handle similar situations that my arise in future. Our nerves and reserves will add a new dimension to our lives.

Finally and most importantly, we must believe and trust our Creator. In His grand scheme, things happen for the good. However, we may not be able to understand that good at the time we are passing through problems. It is only later that we may realize how an unexpected or untoward situation happened to save us from bother. We are bent upon doing something but our failure pushed us into a new direction that proved beneficial to us. We may also realize that had things happened according to our expectations, we might have been doomed or inflicted with more problems,

Optimism then is the name of the key that can unlock all bolts in this journey of life and never let us give up when we see a new locked door!

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