“Onward and Upward,” was an idiom used often by my Dad, usually when something challenging had befallen our family. According to thefreedictionary.com, “onward and upward” is an expression that is defined as “something you say in order to encourage someone to forget an unpleasant experience or failure and to think about the future instead.” “Onward and Upward,” coined by C.S. Lewis in book five of the Narnia series is believed to be the adoption of a position that requires optimism, empathy, and curiosity.
To optimists, the future is believed to always be the place at which, when we arrive, everything will be alright. The future may be a quest to define conditions and circumstances in which we want to happily live forever. Adoption of “onward and upward,” spurs us to ask, “what can I do now to improve my situation?” Optimists evaluate conditions that are intense, emotional, or disappointing as something you are passing through, rather than something that is chronic or never ending. In other words, optimists see the positive side of things. They expect things to turn out well. According to Martin Seligman in his book, Learned Optimism, to adopt optimism for the long term, one must possess and display empathy.
Empathy is the ability to choose to respond rather than react, to understand and share the feelings of others. “How would I feel if this was happening to me? and What can I do to help?” are examples of how empathetic people focus on other people. When we concentrate on how others interpret a situation, it sheds light on the best approach to help the adoption of, “onward and upward.”
Jeff Naylor, CEO of SIRF Roundtables states that an optimistic outlook promotes curiosity, offering a positive approach to uncertainty, which is empowering in facing the future. Optimism and curiosity are necessary bedfellows for bringing about change. Optimism promotes the desired solutions and curiosity creates the foundation for those solutions. Optimists tend to have naturally curious minds, are open to learning, embrace new perspectives, and welcome novel ideas.
Iyanla Vanzant, author of Peace from Broken Pieces, suggests living well today, in this exact moment. We need to be joyful, peaceful, and grateful for what we have and what we are doing right now. When we do things that keep us feeling alive and hopeful, we learn to look forward to a brighter and better future. Vanzant appreciates our fear of the unknown, she recommends acknowledging that fear, accepting it, and walking through it with confidence.
In setting intentions for 2025, there’s a trend where you choose a word or theme to sum up what you want the next twelve months to hold. In contrast to a resolution, a one-word theme leaves room for creativity, whimsy, and fun. Compared to a resolution, a one-word theme is easier to keep uppermost in your mind so it can guide your actions through the year. To pick your own theme, pay attention to a word or concept that resonates with you. Your word might be a noun, an adjective, or a verb. There aren’t any rules when choosing as long as the word is meaningful to you.
With a nod to my Dad, I have chosen “onward and upward’ as my theme for 2025, continuing to move forward, rather than dwelling on negative experiences.
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