I just have to talk about optimism today as I personally wonder how to find the balance of reality to fantasy. I would consider myself an overall positive person, as I work to see the best in any given situation. But, I cannot deny those days and moments where it just doesn't seem possible. Maybe it's because I'm overwhelmed with my to-do list, maybe it is a personal situation. Whatever it may be, I have to ask; when is it just okay to grieve for your particular hardship and not worry about sugar coating or looking for the silver-lining?

I believe overall optimism is huge AND I believe in getting up every time you get knocked down, but I also have to believe that there are just some moments we need to just let ourselves hurt, get the emotion(s) out (in a productive way), and move on to better days.

At the loss of my mother, I didn't cry for days. In fact, it took several months. I keep telling myself, "but there are other people who have had it worse", "I have to be strong for everyone else", "at least I got to say goodbye", "some children lose their mother at a much younger age", etc, etc, on and on. It wasn't until I allowed myself to grieve for my own situation as it was (IT SUCKED AND IT HURT), that I finally started to heal. I tried to stay positive but letting myself finally accept the pain and hardship gave me a sense of freedom to move on; it finally was OKAY to say it WASN'T okay.

In the end, we all go through trials and conflicts that give us our own challenges in both our businesses and our personal lives but I do think it's okay to grieve for whatever the situation is and not just cover it up with positive quotes and/or worse-off comparisons. That is what I intend to do; and I like to call it "hopeless optimism". Or just simply, reality... And then, when we are okay with it not being okay, we can grow stronger bonds with each other as we lean on each other with support and work to help each other