Optimism is a personality trait I never really developed. I don’t know if I was born with an inherent tendency for gloominess or whether some early childhood experience set me on the path to pessimism.
But by the time I was able to read Winnie-the-Pooh I was definitely a glass-half empty girl, convinced that the ever-ebullient Tigger would one day bounce himself right off the edge of a cliff.
I preferred to take my life lessons from Eeyore who famously grumbled: “I never get my hopes up, so I never get let down.”
And the dour donkey’s mantra has stood me in pretty good stead over the years. It infuriates my Pollyanna pals who believe that permanent positivity is what keeps the clouds away – sending good vibes out to the universe and harnessing the cosmic energy that comes back.
But perhaps it’s time I had a rethink – like the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt. Because in the space of a few weeks the Tory government’s harbinger of doom has swapped the long face and constant neigh-saying for a bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy fun, fun, fun new outlook. He appears to have shoved a spring up his bottom and gone full Tigger.
Forget the misery and austerity of his autumn statement, it’s now time to shake off the “gloom” and “declinism”.
We simply need to be more positive – a bit more OPTIMISTIC. Or, as his alter-ego would say: “Oh stop that gloomy roomynation, all you need’s a bit of Tiggerization!”
In a surprisingly upbeat speech on Friday the Chancellor revealed a shiny new plan for economic growth and prosperity based on four Es. That’s Enterprise, Education, Employment and Everywhere.
And once he has got his strategy in place, he reckons Britain will be brighter than Hundred Acre Wood on a summer’s afternoon. Won’t that be lovely? No more rain clouds or blustery days.
And no need to worry about all those other Es – such as Energy, Eating, Emergency care, the Environment, and Effluent in rivers giving Poohsticks a whole new meaning.
But I guess we will just have to wait and see whether Jeremy Hunt can really earn his stripes and get the economy bouncing back. Or if he’ll prove us Eeyores were right all along.
Don’t bother getting your hopes up.