Apr 4, 2023 in Life Coaching

Rose Colored Glasses

How do you look at the world? This post explores three different world views.

“Rose Colored Glasses”

This phrase means looking at the world in a way that is sometimes “overly” positive. It also can mean that a person who looks at the world in this way has a certain naivete because they refuse to see the negative things that happen. A practical optimist sees both the positive and the negative and tries to flip the negative into something more “okay” at the very least.

There is a distinction between the two world views and that is that the person who looks at the world through the lens of “rose colored” glasses rejects the negative and focuses only on the positive. The practical optimist accepts that adverse events are sometimes a part of life, and these negative experiences can be turned into life lessons and/or, growth opportunities or necessary stepping stones along the path of our lives.

The practical optimist asks the question, “How can I learn from this?” and the wearer of “rose colored” glasses asks “How can I manipulate events and people to fit my world view? “One is an example of “magical” thinking and the other is a more practical way of looking at life. One is grounded in reality and the other in fantasy…There is one last world view that I would like to discuss and that is someone who looks at the world through sunglasses.

Let me explain, Sunglasses tone down the brightness of the sun and the wearer sees a dimmer more shaded view of the world around us. They see the darkness and shadowed version in the world. It is almost as if they don’t wish to see and live in the brightness that the light has to offer. They see the dark lining on every beautiful white cloud. They don’t ever look at the world with passion, hope and awe. They want to see if there is anything behind the light and are certain that storm clouds will roll in at any moment. They are the anti-rose-colored glasses people. They find them to be annoying and silly…”don’t they see that the world is full of suffering and pain?” They feel as though, if they just work hard enough or run fast enough that they will be okay. To them…okay means that the world goes along as it should…if there are any positive blips on their radar that it is an anomaly in the system, it is a mistake and all of the happy things get lost quickly in a mist of “shoulds” and that they don’t hold up in the court of logic and scientific explanation. So, it’s better not to have hope or faith because wishes and happiness get crushed and they would be disappointed.

They have no care for love because love dies or they weren’t really sure why it was important in the first place.  It doesn’t make them money or help them along their path towards security of any kind. They believe that love and hope are nice ideas and more for the fool than the rational human being. They believe that hope and love disappoint them, and they don’t have time for that. Positivity is delusional and if they work hard enough it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t figure into the equation.

The three world views have something in common they aren’t facts. They are the sum of our life experiences and conditioning, but it is also a conscious choice. We use such experiences to decide how the world is and our place within it. Here is a “fun fact” for you, the world and the universe don’t care how you look at it. It just is and, just will be no matter how “You” look at it. How you look at the world, universe and the happenings that occur is an example of how you use your free will and consciousness. If you want joy and peace pick the route of the practical optimist. If you want lighthearted fantasy, put on your rose-colored glasses. If you want a world of facts and figures and a world of shadow where there isn’t any surprises or joy it is the world of” gray”. There is nothing bright because it can “hurt” our eyes, no hope because all hopes have been dashed in the past and no love because they have had their heart broken before and it just isn’t worth the risk.

There is a middle ground, where we can be cautiously optimistic…one where we can tentatively take a step forward and if that’s okay maybe take another one and so on. Practical Optimism can be learned, just like pessimism can and the new world can be bright and beautiful. There are problems in this world like in any other but the approach to them is one of discovery and learning and there is a peace that comes from knowing that you did the best you could, right in the moment, with all of the knowledge, and life lessons learned up to that point.

Articles that helped others