Content in the Present

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onewhodreams

Tags:

present moment

So I have been sitting here thinking about all I have to be grateful for. Sometimes I get so caught up in how I can help or make a difference I forget to appreciate what I have. That is of course not to say that we should stop working so that others have the same opportunities but sometimes I lose sight of the present, just being content in the here and now. I am focusing there at the moment, thinking about how lucky I am to be in school and to have the chance to be in a learning environment each day. I'm grateful for the gift to be a part of other's lives, to be allowed into their private worlds, to have so much trust shared with me. I am thankful for my health, a place to live, having my pictures, writing, books, computer here. I appreciate the beautiful weather, my friends, having a pet, being able to take a break to walk, journal, nap, meditate. Most of all I'm grateful to be connected to others.

Question of the day: Do you think that being optimistic is a learned behavior or a pre-determined life view? Do you think it is influenced by an individual's personality or mainly be their environment? How easy is it to change from being a pessimistic, realistic or optimistic person? Do you think that a person's response varies by situation or is fixed depending on how they relate to the world?

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bookworm on

Re: Content in the Present

I think that being optimistic (or pessimistic) is probably both inborn and learned. One's parents can have an enormous influence on this aspect of one's personality, but I think optimism and pessimism are just a part of who someone is. I think it's a lot harder to change from pessimistic to optimistic than the other way around.
I think a person's response can vary by situation depending on the amount of control the person has (or thinks he has) in the situation.

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Fairydustings on

Re: Content in the Present

I think that being optimistic or pessimistic are both learned behaviors. Even though our personalities are genetically influenced they are also environmentally influenced. It is through the environmental influence I think that we gather our views and gear ourselves towards being more optimistic or pessimistic. I think that it is harder to go from being pessimistic to optimisitic - but I think that it is a whole lot easier for a pessimistic or optimisitic to find a more middle ground in a realistic view. Unfortunely I think a lot of people equate realisistic and pessimistic... Ultimately I think a person's response is fixed in regards to how they related to the world, but I think that it can vary some on a situation by situation basis.

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Fairydustings on

Re: Content in the Present

Are we practicing our DBT skills by staying in the present and finding contentment with it?

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onewhodreams on

Re: Content in the Present

I think I need daily therapy and group after this term...

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Fairydustings on

Re: Content in the Present

*laughing* Well - I can start looking into resources to refer you to then... *wink*