Conan said the words above on his last night of hosting The Tonight Show - January 22, 2010. It was something that really struck me in my own life. While I gained even more respect for my beloved Conan through his words, I was also inspired to examine my own behavior.
I have always had a tendency to expect the worst. This pessimism eventually leads to cynicism and I love that Conan pointed out what an ugly trait it is. How true. No one enjoys being around negative people. I know I don't. And what good do I gain from expecting the worst? In my dysfunctional mind I imagine that it will protect me from disappointment. The truth is, cynicism only creates a false sense of security. In reality, I will be disappointed when something goes badly whether I expected it to or not. There's no way to avoid disappointment. All I can control is how I handle it. If I let it build into bitterness and cynical assumptions, I will always maintain a negative outlook on life. There are no benefits to this. But if I keep my head up and approach life with a positive outlook, yes, the inevitable disappointments will still come, but so will the joy of the bigger picture. And people love to be around joyful, positive people.
In my opinion, Conan O'Brien is a perfect illustration of a positive attitude. That guy seems to be able to just roll with the punches of life and not get down. He doesn't lose faith in humanity or sit around sulking about how unfair things are. I am confident that he will be a testament to his own words: "If you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."
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