Rose-coloured glasses

According to the Grammarist, rose-coloured glasses describes a disposition that is upbeat, hopeful, with optimism and positive thinking overflowing. Positive psychology is dedicated to studying the optimist and optimism, and how that type of personality and philosophy can lead a person to have increased confidence and an improvement in attitude and happiness amongst other things. Dr Martin Seligman and other psychology researchers have discovered that those who do not dwell on negativity and pessimism tend to succeed more.

A cynic may reject this idea, believing that to look at life through rose-coloured glasses creates unrealistic expectations and may indicate that you only notice the good things. Having a tendency to forget the negative things that happened in the past and by focusing mainly on the positive attributes, you view the past nostalgically. Cynics believe this view is unrealistic. 

Having a glass half full outlook or looking on the bright side is typically my approach to work and my life in general, and I believe I’m quite optimistic. However, I have had my rose-coloured glasses shattered a few times and you may be surprised to learn that I think this is a good thing. Glass shatters is that moment of realisation that changes your perception of something or someone. You've developed a new awareness; one that can't be unseen. I've included a clip from How I Met Your Mother to explain further.

While this moment may cause some disappointment in either a person, organisation or event, reflection is vital. Shattering the rose-coloured glasses can help close chapters, build resilience and provide space for new perspectives, commitments and opportunities. The cynics in my life will at times, advise and question my naivety. While I don’t think I will ever be that cynic or pessimist, I do agree that on some occasions, I need to be more realistic.

Always wondering...

@stringer_andrea