Optimism Only Counts If You Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel
Passive optimism waits for rescue, and fails like pessimism because neither one moves.
Curiosity Chronicle · The Life Changing Magic of Active OptimismSahil, a writer who thinks about success and how to live well, says he learned the difference from a mentor who once gave him this rule to carry.
“Always assume things will work out, then do the work to make it true.”
He explains what the mentor meant with an old fable. A farmer guiding a cart along a country road gets caught in rain that turns the path to mud, and one wheel sinks deep and sticks. The farmer climbs down, curses his bad luck, stares at the wheel, and pleads skyward for Hercules to rescue him. Hercules appears, but instead of lifting the wagon, he scolds him: “Do you think you can move the wagon by simply looking at it? Put your shoulder to the wheel.” The farmer pushes, the wheel lurches free, and he climbs back up and rides on.
For Sahil, the farmer before the scolding is what he calls passive optimism. It is belief alone, blind confidence that rescue will arrive on its own if you wait and hope. The farmer after the scolding is what he calls active optimism. It is hope that makes you push, a kind of trust you earn by acting.
He argues that only the active version gets you out of the mud. A pessimist stays frozen from a sense that pushing is hopeless, and a passive optimist stays frozen from a sense that pushing is unnecessary. Both stay stuck.
So his advice keeps his mentor’s order. Assume the wheel will budge, then push to make it true.
Questions people ask
Is active optimism just another name for hard work?
Not quite. Hard work can be grim and driven by fear that things will fall apart. Active optimism starts from the expectation that effort will pay off, which makes it easier to start and to keep going after setbacks.
Where does the wagon story come from?
It is one of the fables attributed to Aesop, the ancient Greek storyteller whose short tales about farmers, animals, and gods were meant to teach practical morals. This one is often titled Hercules and the Wagoner, and its moral is usually that the gods help those who help themselves.
What does putting your shoulder to the wheel look like in everyday life?
It means pairing a hopeful assumption with one concrete next step. That could be sending the application while trusting a job search will resolve, having the difficult conversation while trusting a relationship can improve, or booking the doctor visit while trusting a health worry is fixable.