This is a photo I took from Jill’s Grannies house a couple of weeks ago.
It was around 5:30am and as you can see, the sun was breaking and shining brightly through the windows.
I’ve written about the power of sunrise before … but it never fails to blow me away how alive it makes me feel.
Maybe it was because I never used to get up so early in the UK … but I am sure this sort of thing didn’t really affect me until I moved to Australia – however I can honestly say the sight of a new day fills me with more energy, positivity and optimism than almost any other entity.
We have been doing quite a lot of work regarding optimism lately … mainly because it is such an important ingredient in being able to fulfil the Asian cultural value of ‘progression’.
You see out here … there are 3 critical elements that guide and rule society – elements that are immune from cultural, financial and technological evolution and have existed for thousands of years and will continue to exist for thousands of years.
1 Progression
The advancement of the individual/family – be it financially, professionally or educationally – because the belief is each generation should live better than the last.
2 Filial Responsibility
This is not just about ‘looking after the older members of the family’ [though it includes that element] … it is about not screwing up the family name of the last thousand years or the next thousand years.
3 Group Acceptance
The belief that any activity or opinion can only be expressed if a level of mass acceptance within a particular social group has been achieved.
I appreciate these things may sound abit strange to you – especially number 3 – however they are the bedrock of Asian society and as much as it has the potential to lead to certain limitations in what people can do in their lives [however not in what they can achieve in their lives], I do value the fact this society has values – especially as the rest of the World seems intent on discarding all theirs at a rapid rate.
Anyway, while all these elements overlap and interlink, at the heart of them is the need for ‘optimism’ – because without that, people lose their will to ‘try’ to ‘carry on’ to ‘believe’.
Even interms of political choice, people in Asia [where there is a democratic vote] tend to choose what is right for the country and future generations rather than what makes life better for them specifically.
This was best demonstrated a while back when Thailand staged the World’s nicest coup because the people felt their countries sense of ‘optimism’ was being destroyed by the actions of the [allegedly] corrupt leader.
Regardless of whether you were brought up in a Western or Eastern society, optimism is a vital component in being able to fulfil potential … and given many people seem to be living lives with less and less hope [resulting in actions like excessive material possession and/or moments of extreme] … then maybe this helps explains why brands like NIKE, Google and Apple are so successful, because on top of making great products … they represent an attitude/philosophy that is similar to the feeling I get when I see the sun rise.
I know you may think this post is funny given I am such a cynic … but my anger is not driven by hate, it is driven by a sense of idealism … so tomorrow wake up early, think about what really is important to you and then go chase it.
Great things happen when you are optimistic … fight to keep it.