Optimism.

I decided to check Apartment Therapy today and noticed a quote posting:

"Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, it’s unlikely you will step up and take responsibility for making it so. If you assume that there’s no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope. If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, there are opportunities to change things, there’s a chance you may contribute to making a better world. The choice is yours." -- Noam Chomsky

Hmm... it's got me thinking about my life lately. I used to be so much more of an optimist. I think somewhere along the way of "entering the real world" I sort of lost that idealist vivacious hope. I am still optimistic about some things but less so about others. I think that's where the idealism comes in. There's optimism and then there is blind hope.

I relate to the last two lines in particular, "If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, there are opportunities to change things, there’s a chance you may contribute to making a better world. The choice is yours." I think that now, for the first time in a while, I'm confronted with my own expectations versus those around me. Have you ever felt like that before? How do you decide which road to take? I think I'm reaching a point where I need to shake up my life again. The main decision seems to be which path to take... the optimistic/ idealistic one, with no clear road signs, or the easy, fall-in-line marching order. How do you manage optimism without being short-sighted or idealistic?