077

[attorneyatlol]

I don't seem to use this journal for much more than getting a hold of other people or complaining about viruses anymore, but a conversation got me thinking about what it means to be positive. I know, it's a trite subject, right? 'The power of positive thinking'. It makes me think of a self-help seminar... But to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I'd ever accomplish anything if I wasn't sure I would accomplish it. I don't know how or why I developed that mindset or if it was even a conscious decision, but I'm grateful that I have. I can't imagine what would have happened if I'd given up on certain goals...

Don't get me wrong. It's not always easy, and nobody can be positive all the time, but I think it beats the alternative in a lot of cases.

I guess this is why some people have me labeled as an optimist.

Comments

[attorneyatlol]

I don't know. I don't think these kinds of things can be so easily defined. I mean, what if I said I knew I could accomplish my goals because I wouldn't accept any other outcome? Is that really being optimistic or is it just stubbornness?

As long as you're sure...

[samuraiprosecutor]

If you truly wouldn't accept any other outcome, I'd say it was foolishness. As you're well aware, often there are more factors involved than one man can possibly have any influence over. (Your miraculous track record still baffles me. If- When your streak of luck fails you... I don't want)

(...Not entirely.) Quite sure.

[attorneyatlol]

Haven't you called me foolish before?

...Alright.

[samuraiprosecutor]

(Only when it was deserved. So, numerous times.) I may have, at some point.

(...though I must admit that the title can occasionally apply to myself, as well. Case in point.)

[attorneyatlol]

It's nice to see you're so in control of your thoughts.

[samuraiprosecutor]

I'm faring better than some members, at any rate.

[attorneyatlol]

Really.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Really. (A frightening thought, isn't it?)

[attorneyatlol]

Hm.

So where on the spectrum do you see yourself?

[samuraiprosecutor]

You don't recall? I'd label myself a realist.

[attorneyatlol]

No, I remember. I just wondered if your opinion had changed any.

[samuraiprosecutor]

My opinion has remained consistent, in spite of your best efforts. I'm afraid I've seen too much of the world to be anything else. (...Though I must admit, there have been occasions when I've envied your naïveté. It's allowed you to accomplish more than I would have believed possible.)

[attorneyatlol]

I suppose I'll take that as a compliment.

[samuraiprosecutor]

...As you wish.

[attorneyatlol]

You know, I think you're a little more optimistic than you let on.

[samuraiprosecutor]

(...Obviously, you would.)

An optimistic, rather than a realistic, assumption. I see things as they are, Wright. (And I suspect your influence is one of the sole reasons I can't claim to be a pessimist.)

[attorneyatlol]

Maybe. But do you know how many people would look at what you're trying to do with the court system and tell you it's realistically impossible?

[samuraiprosecutor]

(...Too many. Far too many.)

I'm under no delusions as to the viability of our goals. What one expects and what one is willing to work towards, regardless of the outcome, are two entirely different factors.

[attorneyatlol]

Well, maybe I am an optimist, then.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Maybe so.

[attorneyatlol]

Then I'll wear the label proudly, because together, I think we will do it. And I think you think so, too.

[samuraiprosecutor]

(If ever anyone could make me believe... God, sometimes I fear his optimism is contagious.)

I think that we'll strive for it until we can't any longer. It's more foolishness than optimism, but perhaps the end result will be the same.

[attorneyatlol]

Perhaps.

[samuraiprosecutor]

(...Damn.)

I'm not an optimist, Wright. (And if I can maintain any hold on my senses, I never will be.)

[attorneyatlol]

I didn't say you were. But I don't see any reason why a realist can't be optimistic sometimes or why an optimist can't see things realistically. In the end, I think we're all just realists with varying degrees of experiences and expectations.