The Optimist Creed...

Cover of Your Forces and How to Use Them

...By



Michele Doucette







"The Optimist Creed" was written in 1912 by Christian D. Larson, appearing in a book entitled Your Forces  and How to Use Them. The version quoted herein has been taken from Science of Mind 71 (June 1998). I shall be sharing it herein, interspersed with my own thoughts and reflections. Thereafter, do take the time to reread only the bolded segments that comprise the totality of the creed itself.


Promise yourself


To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

Peace of mind refers to the absence of mental stress and anxiety; a place whereby one can experience serenity, calm, quiet, comfort of mind, all of which can be said to equate to inner peace. I simply cannot stress how important it is to achieve, and maintain, peace of mind. Truth be told, it is this emotional freedom that will set everyone free from their self-imposed confinement.

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

Health, happiness and prosperity (an overflowing fullness of the heart) equates to abundance. Energy always follows intent. Positive thoughts attract positive results. Our thoughts, beliefs, expectations, words and actions create a magnetic field around us that attracts to us people and situations that match our energy and our vibration. In talking health, happiness and prosperity, we are further shaped by those thoughts, outwardly creating even more abundance for ourselves and others.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

No one is more important and/or less important than another; all are equal in their value to themselves and each other. Unfortunately, many may need to hear what others love about them in order to be able to even begin to acknowledge that they have many things to love about themselves. Even if that person finds it hard to believe that someone could like a particular thing about them, it is important that they learn to trust that their friends know, and can identify, what it is that they like about them. Each of us has a role to play in this equation.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

While it is not known to whom the following quote can be attributed, it is well worth citing herein.

The good you find in others, is within you as well. The faults you find in others, are your faults as well. After all, to recognize something in your outer world, you must have a reference point in your inner world. The world around you is a reflection, a mirror showing you the person you are. To change your world, simply change yourself. See the best in others, and you will be at your best. Give to others, and you give to yourself. Love others, and you will be loved. Seek to understand, and you will be understood. Listen, and your voice will be heard. Teach, and you will learn.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

Energy always follows intent. In thinking only the best, in working only for the best, in expecting only the best, you will, without a doubt, experience only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

Sharing in the success of others motivates others to do the same; thereby sharing in your personal successes as well.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

While we can learn from our mistakes, we are not meant to beat ourselves up over them. If we put ourselves down, we are prone to relegating others to the same treatment. It becomes in forgetting the mistakes that we can move onwards towards even greater achievements.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

Having made the decision to always wear a cheerful countenance, it is amazing at how well you feel. You can make an incredible difference in someone’s life by always greeting another with a cheery smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.


Now this is so very accurate, is it not? To give to one’s self is not being selfish. How can you assist another when you have not taken the time to work on yourself? As you work on improving yourself you become so engrossed in what you need to do that you simply refrain from thoughts, beliefs, expectations, words and actions of a negative demeanor, and that, of course, includes criticizing others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Peace of mind and sheer happiness eliminates everything else, including worry, anger and fear.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.

Most are familiar with the saying actions speak louder than words. Take pride in your outwardly accomplishments, sharing such with the world, but without the presence of ego. Know that you, too, can create as Yeshua (Jesus) did, coming from heart-based consciousness.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

The world is a projection, an extension, if you will, of your own mind as well as your thought processes. The thoughts you think result in what you see. You can choose, therefore, to see an abominable, doom and gloom, world or you can choose to see a wondrous, beautiful and magnificent world.

If you remain true to the best that is in you, if you learn to live in alignment with the heart, if you remain positive, thereby no longer contributing to the collective negativity, you will have succeeded at something so monumental, so powerful, so necessary, that others, upon witnessing your example, will be able to follow suit, should that be their choice.

You must reclaim your power, a power that has always been yours but one that you elected to give away, a power that involves discipline of the mind and an earnest desire to live in alignment with Source.