17 Things Only Endlessly Optimistic People Will Understand

1. You always bring more wine ‘than is needed’ to a social event. And it always, always gets opened.

2. You learned a long time ago that putting other people down never makes you feel better about yourself, and that, on the contrary, it actually makes you feel worse. So even though there are still people who absolutely infuriate you, you always make an effort to try to find the good side of them. It doesn’t mean your friends with everybody, but it does mean that you spend less time thinking about people you don’t like and more time being around people that bring you joy.

3. You tend to be late a lot. Not because you’re irresponsible or a hot mess, but because you always bank on there being easy parking or less traffic or fewer problems with public transportation. Or, you just assume that you definitely have time to finish this Netflix episode before you leave, even though you definitely don’t. It’s a problem. You’re working on it.

4. Your weather app could tell you there’s a 150% chance of rain, and you would still hold out for that teeny, tiny chance that it’s wrong. Because every once in a while, Weatherman Ken is wrong.

5. You’re not afraid to be sad. You think it’s a natural human emotion and it’s something that everyone experiences – quite frequently. You’re just not a wallower. You allow yourself to be upset and then you keep going. That’s the difference.

6. You will unfailingly click on any Internet post that claims to be a list of inspirational quotes or mantras.

7. …and you’re not weirded out by the idea of a ‘mantra.’

8. You’re not necessarily ‘New Agey’ and well-versed in all of the concepts that come with it. But you certainly like to believe in karma and good vibes.

9. You’re not intimidated by a spotless, white comforter. Bring it on, spaghetti dinner in bed.

10. You’ve put your faith in a lot of people who have let you down.

11. But your unrelenting openness to others is also the reason why you’ve encountered so many incredibly, lovely, life-changing people in your years so far.

12. You’re well aware of the fact that sometimes your optimism annoys people or throws them off. But you don’t care. Living this way makes you happy. And it’s your life, not theirs.

13. You’re also aware of the fact that sometimes people confuse being optimistic with being naive. For you, optimism is not about blindly assuming that everything is always going to work out perfectly. It’s about tackling each thing in your life head-on, and knowing that, even when things are incredibly difficult, you will get through it. Somehow.

14. If the prep time on a recipe says ’20 minutes,’ you believe it. And yet there you are, 45 minutes later, still chopping vegetables. But it’s cool, because you’re watching an excellent episode of Stranger Things at the same time.

15. You never think you’re going to be hungover for your flight.

16. But you almost always are.

17. Whatever. It was worth it.