flexagon | Together, more or less in line, just keep truckin' on...

Final (or second-to-final) laser hair removal appointment today. My armpits smelled like burning hair all day at the office, though I don't think anyone else could tell. It was pretty spooky. I don't remember that happening before.

Psychology Today has a big cover story this month on optimism, in which they seem to redefine "optimistic" as "persistent". They tie it back (partially) to my idea of optimism with the sentence "If you believe the future will be good, you'll persist through tough times whether you're naturally cheerful or not". The whole "outlook is less important than behavior" theme goes on. At least according to some researchers "...regardless of their expectations, optimists don't give up becasue they're conscientious. In the face of difficulty, they redouble their efforts. Increased effort is beneficial overall, because as you persist in working toward long-term goals... you create a resource-rich life, one that increases well-being across the board."

So apparently I show my optimism the most when I am actually depressed and just hunker down and work on stuff. Excellent. I'm clearly a raging optimist, especially lately. :P I was just joking rather bitterly with my officemate yesterday when he suggested a

flexagon action figure. Pull the string, he said, and it would say "let's go white-water rafting!" I pointed out that it would much more likely say "no thanks, I have to finish my homework" or "I'm fine, I'll be here just a little later." Some action figure. I think Psychology Today forgets that people are persistent if they think the future will be good, but they're also persistent if they're convinced the future will suck if they're not.

To clarify: things lately have been kind of "guh, I'm sort of depressed. I guess I'll do a chore or study something". But I'm not especially depressed about being depressed... it happens... it'll go away. It's just so random that the article was about exactly that kind of dynamic.