I've been reading Stephen Ambrose's biography of Meriwether Lewis (of the Lewis & Clark expedition), "Undaunted Courage." The determination and resourcefulness of the men (and woman) on that expedition across the untamed North American contenent is extraordinary. It cannot be coincidence that the philosophy of the leader was relentlessly forward-looking. Lewis expressed his outlook in this way: "As I have always held it a crime to anticipate evils I will believe it a good comfortable road until I am compelled to believe differently."
We might all do well to consider the impact such positive thinking has on our endeavors. Defeatism is often mislabeled as "rationalism" or "realism." How much less might we accomplish if our first instinct upon being confronted with adversity is to bemoan our fate, crying that we just knew this would happen?
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