In troubled times, such people ensure we are on the side of sound principles and philosophy. There is a right way and a wrong way of doing everything. The confusion comes when the wrong way starts sounding suspiciously similar to the right way--minus the lynchpins of moral grounding.
What is the right way to respond to recent developments? What went wrong? How do we ensure that the people we work with from this point forward are on the right side of discretion and prudence? These are questions that an opti-mystic is willing to confront and discuss with clients.
Opti-mystics understand that attitude makes a life, not vice versa.
Our circumstances are formed by the disposition we choose toward them. Viktor Frankl wrote in The Doctor and the Soul that in life we have a position (how and where we came to be), a destiny (what has happened) and a disposition (how we choose to respond to the first two things). It is the position he takes that ultimately defines an individual's life.
Ask a cynic why he is a cynic and he will tell you it is because of his position and destiny, what happened and why it happened.
The cynic blames the course of his life for his attitude toward it. He has chosen the worst possible disposition--to give up on the possibilities--because his garden did not come up all roses. The all-important point the cynic misses is that his disposition has deepened his unwanted position and entrenched him in a destiny he loathes.
The opti-mystic recognizes that yesterday is irreversible and tomorrow hinges on our attitude today.
Opti-mystics are filled with joie de vivre.
Have you ever gone through a very difficult period and admitted to yourself afterward it was good for you? Do you admit that the struggles made you who you are? If you answered "yes" to these questions, you may be an opti-mystic because this is how opti-mystics live-waking up and embracing whatever life throws at them with the realization that the challenge is what defines them as humans. Instead of dreading the challenge, they are imbued with a joyful competitive spirit that says, "Bring me dung and I'll produce methane fuel."
The joy of life is knowing that you have purpose and that this purpose extends into the lives of many others who depend on you for inspiration, guidance and hope. You'll have more opportunity to show this inner strength and meaning in difficult times than when the tide rides high.