If you expect something to turn out badly, it probably will.Pessimism is seldom disappointed. But the same principle also works in reverse. If you expect good things to happen, they usually do! There seems to be a natural cause-and-effect relationship between optimism and success.

　　Optimism and pessimism are both powerful forces, and each of us must choose which we want to shape our outlook and our expectations. There is enough good and bad in everyone’s life — ample sorrow and happiness, sufficient joy and pain — to find a rational basis for either optimism or pessimism. We can choose to laugh or cry, bless or curse. It’s our decision: From which perspective do we want to view life? Will we look up in hope or down in despair?

　　I believe in the upward look. I choose to highlight the positive and slip right over the negative. I am an optimist by choice as much as by nature. Sure, I know that sorrow exists. I am in my 70s now, and I’ve lived through more than one crisis. But when all is said and done, I find that the good in life far outweighs the bad.

　　An optimistic attitude is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. The way you look at life will determine how you feel, how you perform, and how well you will get along with other people. Conversely, negative thoughts, attitudes, and expectations feed on themselves; they become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pessimism creates a dismal place where no one wants to live.

　　Years ago, I drove into a service station to get some gas. It was a beautiful day, and I was feeling great. As I walked into the station to pay for the gas, the attendant said to me, “How do you feel?” That seemed like an odd question, but I felt fine and told him so. “You don’t look well,” he replied. This took me completely by surprise. A little less confidently, I told him that I had never felt better. Without hesitation, he continued to tell me how bad I looked and that my skin appeared yellow.

　　By the time I left the service station, I was feeling a little uneasy. About a block away, I pulled over to the side of the road to look at my face in the mirror. How did I feel? Was I jaundiced? Was everything all right? By the time I got home, I was beginning to feel a little queasy. Did I have a bad liver? Had I picked up some rare disease?

　　The next time I went into that gas station, feeling fine again, I figured out what had happened. The place had recently been painted a bright, bilious yellow, and the light reflecting off the walls made everyone inside look as though they had hepatitis! I wondered how many other folks had reacted the way I did. I had let one short conversation with a total stranger change my attitude for an entire day. He told me I looked sick, and before long, I was actually feeling sick. That single negative observation had a profound effect on the way I felt and acted.

　　The only thing more powerful than negativism is a positive affirmation, a word of optimism and hope. One of the things I am most thankful for is the fact that I have grown up in a nation with a grand tradition of optimism. When a whole culture adopts an upward look, incredible things can be accomplished. When the world is seen as a hopeful, positive place, people are empowered to attempt and to achieve.

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　　选择乐观

　　假如你预期某事会有不妙的结果，结局也许就真的不妙——悲观的想法很少落空。但这个法则反过来也同样成立：如果你自感鸿运当头，通常就会有好运降临！在乐观与成功之间似乎有一种天然的因果关系。

　　乐观和悲观都是强大的力量，我们每个人都必须在这两者之间做出选择，从而给我们对未来的展望和预期染上或明或暗的色彩。每个人的生命中都有足够多的幸与不幸——数不清的哀伤和喜悦，欢欣与痛苦——给我们乐观或悲观的理由。我们可以选择哭或是笑，祝福或是诅咒。我们可以选择用什么样的眼光去看待生活——是昂首去寻找希望抑或垂头在绝望中逡巡。

　　我喜欢向上看。我会把注意力集中在生活中光明的一面，忽略那些阴暗的角落。天性和个人选择是我成了一个乐观主义者。当然，我知道生命中总有伤痛，年逾古稀的我曾不止一次经历过危机。但是，当一切尘埃落定，我发现生命中的美好远远比丑恶为多。

　　乐观的态度不是一种奢侈品；它是我们生活的必需。你看待生活的方式将决定你的感受、你的表现，以及你与他人相处得怎样。反过来，悲观的想法、态度和预期也会自成因果：它们是能自我实现的预言。悲观会制造出无人愿望的黑暗处所。

　　几年前，我驱车去一个加油站加油，那天天气很好，我的心情也不错。当我走进加油站付油钱时，服务员问我：“你感觉怎样？”问题问得有点古怪，我感觉很好，于是便照实回答了他。他又说：“你气色不好。”他的话让我非常吃惊。我告诉他我的感觉从未像现在这么好，但说此话时已不像原来那么底气十足。而他则毫无顾忌的继续大讲我的气色是如何的差劲，还说我肤色发黄。

　　在离开加油站的时候，我觉得有点心神不宁。驶出一个街区之后，我把车泊在路旁，从镜中审视自己的脸。我怎么了？我得了黄疸病吗？是不是有什么异常？等我回到家里，我开始觉得有点恶心。我的肝脏出了毛病吗？是不是染上了什么怪病？

　　再次光顾那么加油站的时候，我已恢复正常，感觉良好，而且明白了各种蹊跷。这个地方不久前把墙漆成了一种鲜亮的、胆汁般的黄色，这颜色使置身其中的每一个人都给映得像得了肝炎。不知道有多少人也曾有过和我相似的经历。和每一个完全陌生的人的一次短短对话竟然改变了我整整一天的心情。他说我面有病容，很快我就真的觉得不舒服，仅仅是一个消极的看法就大大影响了我感觉和行为的方式。

　　唯一比否定态度更有力量的是一个积极的肯定，一句充满乐观与希望的话语。最让我心存感激的事情之一就是我生长在一个有着光荣的乐观主义传统的国度。当一种文化从整体上采取了一种积极向上的态度，不可思议的事情也能变成现实。当人们把世界看作一个光明与希望之地，它们将被赋予努力进取和成就功业的力量。