Choosing realism is not the same as being pessimistic. Denying reality and choosing optimistic bias is delusional.
It is possible to see things as they are and not make it an internally destructive event, especially if you are emotionally, mentally, and spiritually regulated.
It is not possible to deny reality for long periods of time and not have it affect your emotions and physical and mental states.
Cognitive biases are systematic errors in thinking. They affect the entire realm of cognition in both how a person perceives not only their own world but also the worlds of others.
Choosing to live in a world that you keep separate from actual reality is not a healthy way to live life.
That is not to say that people shouldn’t protect themselves from harm and trauma, it just means that delusion and willful denial are not the healthiest ways to accomplish that.
There will eventually be a catastrophic breakdown in the walls of the very flimsy Denial Castle you are living in.
There is only so long that one can board up windows and try to shut out the outside world … like the original Night Of The Living Dead … the zombies and farmhouse maintenance are both metaphors for not facing the truth of the changing world …
Eventually, you will be overrun by the truth and eaten alive by it.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚. 𝙄𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮. 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝘼𝙒𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚. 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝.𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬. 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤.
Elaine Barlow
I wrote that line about truth when I was in the 7th grade … my understanding of what I needed to do to be able to face reality was something long since known to me.
What I discovered in middle school was a lot of people who masked their pain and/or took their pain out on others … they never looked within for the problem and that was something that bothered me greatly about my peers.
I was scared of them because they always seemed unwell and on the verge of exploding …
That feeling hasn’t changed for me and I’m past 50 …
What I see is still a lot of people denying truth, hiding from truth, and being willfully ignorant about the world around them … and these are the same people who are angry about small things, insignificant things … they project all that internal fear and terror of inevitable truths onto everything and everyone, instead of just strengthening themselves and learning to face reality.
I find such people to be very dangerous.
This is my personal philosophy of why I live my life as a realist:
The stronger you become in the face of adversity, pain, and even evil in your life, the more you can help other people who are suffering and have not yet the strength to fight or flee.
You can do more good for others in the world being emotionally, mentally, and spiritually balanced, than you can being a slave to fear, anger, and delusion.
It’s more important to help others than to protect false narratives and personal bias.