9 Practical Ways to Be More Optimistic in Your Daily Life

Many studies have tried to prove the importance of pessimism. Psychological theory (bystander effect) says that individuals are less likely to help a victim when other people are with them, as an idea spread by William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies says.

Note: You may feel that pessimism sometimes clouds the world, from laws and policies that usually assume people will do bad things to the way we refuse to revive the hope of seizing certain opportunities within ourselves.

As humans, we will act selfishly and abandon morality. When we are forced to rely on ourselves outside the framework of civilization or traditional thinking, all of this has combined to the conclusion that pessimism is an integral part of human existence, or at least that is what we thought.

In his latest book, Humankind: A Hopeful History, historian and author Rutger Bregman found the opposite true. He says: "The message I am trying to convey in my book is that most people deep down are kind. Massive scientific evidence from archaeology, sociology, psychology, and anthropology repeatedly shows that we have evolved to be friendly.

Biologists talk about the survival of the kindest these days. Kindness is our superpower as a human race." Rutger refuted the Lord of Flies theory and the spectator effect, using recent data from observation systems and real case studies similar to the events of the Lord of Flies in his book to prove that humans are good and that optimism is the best approach to life.

Practical Ways to Be More Optimistic in Your Daily Life

Despite the evidence, it is still challenging to adopt an actual positive outlook, especially after the stressful and unexpected events of the past year.

Still, some methods push you to change your way of thinking, as Rutger himself knows, as he says: "I used to be a pessimist." Here, Rutger explains how you can start to change your way of thinking, to look at the world and people around you positively by heeding the following nine methods:

1. Assume people are always good

Rutger's research on the spectator effect theory and people's actions, when faced with an actual situation when someone is in danger, found that people help each other in 90% of cases, meaning that expecting good behavior from people is also a positive and realistic approach. “When you are not sure what to think, assume the best, and you will be right most of the time when you do so because scientific evidence indicates that 98% of people have good intentions,” Rutger says.

"Even if people do not have good intentions for you, your positive response can have profound psychological effects on them. If someone is bad to you and you respond kindly and affectionately, that person will find it very difficult to continue to deal with you meanly because we as humans imitate each other's behavior at every moment. So, it may be logical, smart, and wise to deal with your enemies kindly," Rutger continues.

Rutger explains that this strategy is challenging because of some bad people nearby, such as fraudsters and criminals. However, he advises us to take it smoothly. “Accept that you will be deceived a few times in your life, or stolen, or someone will betray your trust. However, this is a price you must be willing to pay for a life you can trust with everyone around you, and how wonderful it is to do so.”

If you do not want to be deceived, your lifestyle towards people will always be skeptical and cautious, which means you cannot develop an optimistic outlook. Rutger explains that people are often ashamed to be deceived or swindled. Still, he believes that “people should view those situations as evidence of their humanity and should be proud of them.”

2. Meet people face-to-face

"Loneliness causes the same damage as smoking fifteen cigarettes per day,” says Rutger. He explains that meeting people face to face and seeing the good in the people around you is critical to developing an optimistic view of life, especially after the previous year's events.

"We are the only species in the creature kingdom that can blush, and no other animal can do that except us. This feature helps us build trust between each other, but you cannot see someone blushing online." Therefore, spending time with people face to face - especially people we have recently met-will help you see the good in others and humanity in general.

3. Understand that optimism does not mean naivety

"Often, we consider pessimism a realistic view, but pessimists are very naive. If you look at the latest scientific evidence, you will find that they adopt a more optimistic view of human nature." Rutger's research proves that a pessimistic view of the world is unrealistic and optimism is not naive.

"Pessimists tend to be lazy," he says, explaining that negative behavior is an easy way to evade personal, social, and political responsibilities. "The opposite of pessimism is hope, and hope is the possibility of change," he says, adding that this is the best way to think, as history has proven that change is possible and fruitful.

4. Read the stories we want to live

We read a lot about the tragedies that have happened throughout history and are happening now because those stories are exceptional cases of normal life, and the same applies to fictional novels.

Rutger says: "Stories are never just stories. We become the stories we tell ourselves. If we always tell ourselves that most people are evil and selfish, the people around us will start to behave this way."

Therefore, it is essential to choose the types of stories you read carefully to ensure they reflect life realistically and optimistically.

"I think that we can change the world if everyone modifies their opinion of human nature, to look at it with more optimism and realism, and based on the science that studies the human race." He explains that the stories we read are necessary for this change to occur in our perspective.

5. Organize news follow-up

News is an essential part of the stories we receive, and it usually focuses on the negative aspects of life. Rutger says: "The news mostly talks about exceptional cases, such as things that did not go well, so if you watch the news a lot, especially on television, you will get depressed and become pessimistic."

Rutger explains a well-known phenomenon among psychologists called the "mean world syndrome," in which people perceive the world as more passive than it is because of the negative messages they receive from the media.

Ask yourself if you would want to watch or read that news if it was published a day or a week ago, and if you wouldn't want to read or watch old news, then the information it contains is worthless."

6. Put things in perspective

"We always think the era we live in is the most wonderful and the things that are happening now have never happened before." Rutger explains that he is concerned about many things in contemporary society, but he is suspicious of this idea because he is a historian, saying: "The study of history helps to put things in perspective."

He uses as an example people who say technology is developing today faster than ever, but in fact, inventions such as trains, cars, sewage networks, and electricity were invented during a relatively short period in the late ninth century, which, compared to now, was the actual era of technological progress.

The same applies to our thinking about the bad things that are happening now. Rutger explains that changing your perspective so that you realize that bad things have always happened and good things always happen will help you become more optimistic; it all depends on your view of human nature.

7. Treat people as you want them to behave

You should also expect good from people. They should respectfully be treated even if you do not like their behavior. Rutger explains this using politics. He supports a process called "participatory democracy," so people from diverse backgrounds are randomly selected to make political decisions.

He explains that this process has proven successful because treating people with respect, confidence, and optimism results in their behavior in a way that is consistent with that treatment. The same applies to the way you deal with people in your daily life.

Rutger says: "People will be lazy if you treat them as if they are lazy, and if you treat them as if they are stupid, they will behave stupidly, but if you treat them as if smart and altruistic and want to contribute to the public interest, they will behave in this way, that is, it all depends on your view of human nature."

8. Take into account developments in the world

It is easy to focus on the difficulties people face and the bad trend the situation takes, but Rutger stresses that some aspects are improving and developing, and it is important to note them.

Rutger explains a simple way to do this by thinking about the generations that have lived and are now living: "When you look at the situation in terms of the succession of generations, you will notice that today's young people, especially those belonging to Generation Z, are the most ethnically diverse, highly educated, and most advanced of all generations that preceded them."

“The new generation has very different ideas about the world, and I think that will lead to tremendous changes,” Rutger says, adding that some of this change is already taking the form of Black Lives Matter, Climate Justice, and the growing popularity of the plant as a diet.

9. Recognize the power of each individual

“As an individual, you can make a big change because people think they cannot make a change,” Rutger explains that one of the most important ways to develop an optimistic view of life is to realize that you, as an individual, can change things. According to Rutger: “We humans are a bit like sheep, as we do what others do, but those who do not follow the herd have a tremendous impact on their own.”

History and contemporary events have proven that the influence of individuals is significant. For example, the American activist who called for an end to racial discrimination, Martin Luther King, and the activist who seeks to stop global warming, Greta Thunberg. Rutger adds: “If you have beliefs and ideas that you strongly believe in, you can make a huge change.”