DALANEL

Blog Updates: Instagram and Weekly Content

Hey.

HEY.

HEY!

Just really quick, I wanna share a couple of tweaks that I’m making.

Instagram

Instagram is interesting. My blog is connected to Instagram, so when I post here, it automatically goes over there. The problem I’m facing is links are essentially broken when I do this, so someone can’t follow the link to see the entire post. They basically see the featured image and the name of the title.

With that said, I’m going to eliminate Instagram from automatic sharing for my blog. It works fine for Threads so my content will continue to land over there. I’ve also noticed that Threads overall gives me more engagement than IG overall so that’s something I’m keeping an eye on.

But this also means, I would like to produce content for Instagram. Now that Threads has…”exclusive” content, I’d like for my IG followers to have something. And I think that means I’m going to look into reels more since that seems to be more popular than regular IG posts.

Weekly Content

Okay, so when I relaunched, I kept going with the Weekly Optimism and Weekly Funnies. I looked at the posts for both of these titles and I was left dissatisfied. I feel like both posts are too short. So, I came to two possible conclusions.

  1. I can just make each type of content longer.
  2. I can combine them into one bigger type of post.

I debated this for a while but I ultimately decided to just combine the two. I think it would make for easier reading and it would make it easier to create. It would ultimately be a weekly version of what Daily Good Stuff used to be.

I can’t tell you it’s going to be called “Weekly Good Stuff” (not feeling it anyway). But I’m not sure I still love Weekly Optimism because now there’s more in there. Can humor still be counted as something positive or optimistic? So I need to figure that out.

Weekly Funnies 33

Weekly Funnies is pretty self explanatory. Let’s get a good laugh in!

A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, “This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.” The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, “Which do you want, son?” The boy takes the quarters and leaves. “What did I tell you?” said the barber. “That kid never learns!”

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream parlor. “Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?” The boy licked his cone and replied: “Because the day I take the dollar the game is over!”

Weekly Optimism 7

This week’s news is a first of its kind…for this particular prison. Louisiana’s Angola Prison had their first ever “Dad and Daughter Dance”. From SunnySkyz:

When fathers turned around to see their daughters enter the room, many broke down in tears—including Leslie, an incarcerated father who hadn’t danced with his daughter until that very moment.

“When I turned around and saw my baby in that dress and she busted out crying… I sobbed, man, and I ain’t no crier,” he shared with Newsweek. “She said, ‘Dad, I finally get a chance to dance with you for the first time.’”

I love stories like this. The dads were screened and had to be in good standing in order to participate for obvious reasons. But, it’s important to remember that there are plenty of good people that did bad things behind bars. These are still uncles, husbands, sons, and of course, fathers. It’s our job to make sure they don’t lose the humanity as they serve for their crimes.

What is Optimism and How is it Different from Hope?

Right, so I know what you’re thinking!

What, exactly, is optimism?

Some say it’s a form of being naive. Some say it’s being hopeful.

If I’m gonna make a blog about optimism, it makes sense to define what I’m talking about. Is there a universal understanding of the word,or am I using my own explanation? Let’s take a look at optimism and the power of the word.

So, if you’ve been following me long enough, you know I have a go-to dictionary: Merriam-Webster. Let’s see what they say about optimism:

  1. a doctrine that this world is the best possible world
  2. an inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome

Hm. I’m not loving this. You know what this is missing? Emotion. But let’s break this definition down anyway.

The first point indicates that optimism basically means this is the best scenario. If we go really deep, I feel like this hints at the idea that the butterfly effect would lead to a worse situation. It indicates an alternate reality would be worse off than ours. That’s how I read into that.

The second point is interesting. To me, it says that more about attitude. It speaks more to our viewpoint. I can look at one situation and look at it…well, half full while someone else can see it half empty.

But it goes a little more than that. It also speaks to action. Looking at a situation and figuring out how to “maximze” the potential. If the glass is half full, how do I fill it or at least keep it from going lower. The best possible outcome.

Both of these definitions indicate it’s more of a mindset than a feeling. I agree with that. That leads me to an interesting point: Optimism LEADS to Hope.

That’s right! Hope is the emotion that is born from optimism. Let me give you an example:

So, let’s say you’re at work. You have this project that you need to complete by a certain time. Most of us live that all of the time at work, regardless of the job/industry. Okay great. Now, as you’re working on the project, you run into an unforeseen oopsie. Something went wrong.

Before I continue, I’m gonna share this quote really quick:

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Great, so let’s go back to our job. Optimism looks at the problem and basically says “I’ll figure this out. I won’t give up.”

Now hope steps in. Hope is the fuel for the optimism. It allows us to actually work towards the goal. It allows us to figure it out. We develop a gameplan and get it done.

I hopped onto Psychology Today and there’s a great quote to try to connect optimism and hope. Check this out:

“Simply put, the optimistic person believes that somehow—either through luck, the actions of others, or one’s own actions—that his or her future will be successful and fulfilling. The hopeful person, on the other hand, believes specifically in his or her own capability for securing a successful and fulfilling future.”

See that? Optimism is the belief that things will somehow work out. But the hope comes from the idea that we are the ones that can make it happen.

So why not go with “Dante’s Hope”? Why did I fixate on optimism?

Hope says “I can make it better” and Optimism says “It will be better”. I still see it as hope comes from optimism. How can I make something better if I don’t believe in the idea that, in general, it can actually be better?

Optimism feels a little more realistic and has more practical usage. There are a lot of things out of our control in this world. Yes, we control a good amount of things; and it’s important to look in the mirror for improvement. But, again, there are many things that impact us that we can’t directly control.

The economy. The drunk driver that crashes into you. The CEO making poor decisions that results in you getting laid off. These are things out of your control. Optimism says that despite these things, we’ll survive. It will be fine.

Now, hope also plays a factor, but it’s more reactionary. The events have already taken place. Optimism, to me, gives me a mindset that these things may not happen. “The best possible outcome”. Even if those things happened; I still believe that I will have the best possible outcome.

If I lose my job, hope says I need to update my resume and get myself back out there. Tap into my connections. Optimism says I will find a job. It’s broad. I might get lucky and some random former client wants to bring me on. Maybe I do follow the path of hope and get it done under my control. But it will get better.

Optimism says it’s going to be fine and hope makes sure we do what we can to reach that reality. This is why hope is part of the definition of optimism for some dictionaries like Oxford.

Next time, I’m gonna talk about optimism and what some call “toxic positivity” as well as realism. In the meantime, I hope this all made sense. Optimism and hope are important, but it all starts with the mentality that things will be better through optimism.

Dante’s Optimism: It’s Back

I’m back. I’ll be brief.

My optimism isn’t actually fully back. I have had a really rough three years. However, during this time, I learned something about myself: I am a light to others.

During my time off from this blog, I’ve consistently been told how much of a positive impact I’ve had on people. People are drawn to me and my energy. Days a better when I’m around.

That’s the feedback; I’m not talking myself up. Quite frankly, I’ve been more miserable than happy. I’ve felt more hopeless than optimistic. But, apparently, no matter how I feel, there is a core fundamental trait of mine that constantly uplifts those around me. I guess I will accept that reality, even if I don’t fully believe or understand it.

I reasoned it with one idea: I aim to help people feel better so that they don’t end up in the dark places that I have experienced. I know pain. I know sorrow. I know betrayal and abandonment. I know financial instability and the struggles. Yet, no matter what I go through or deal with, I am able to fill the cups of others.

The feedback from people reminded me of who and what I am. So I came back to this blog to reignite the flame that went out many years ago. This blog is for me just as much as it is for you.

So, every week, on Mondays, I’ll be posting content. Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss anything or follow me on social media.

I’m in the process or revamping my main website, but I wanted this blog back up first. Stay tuned.

The end of Dante’s Optimism is here

In 2011, I started a blog. It was called Dante’s Opinion. It grew into something more. It grew into this.

It’s with a heavy heart that I announce the end of Dante’s Optimism. My optimism. And, for now, this is the end of my blogging career.

At first, I was just going to let the blog sit here and gather dust. But, when I look at the number of subscribers and comments and fans, I realize I owe you an explanation. Some of you have been following me for years. Following my optimism. I’m going to tell you why this is the end.

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