The Optimism Bias* versus Reality, a long December Bank Holiday.

1) When.

2) My cool objectives.

3) What happened.

4) How I feel about it.

5) Video – The Optimism Bias tedtalk from Tali Sharon.

6) A Crossword puzzle to test the new vocabulary.

1) When

“Oh, what a lot of decorating, shopping, studying, socializing and productive activity I will be able to get done!” I thought. Or would I?

In Madrid, in Spain where I live, there is a wonderfully long Bank holiday in December. It was a public holiday for the Spanish Constitution on Wednesday and then another holiday on Friday for the Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception. With a little moving around of my classes I also managed to get Thursday free. So my five day Super Bank holiday weekend was here!

(* = vocabulary notes after each section)

2) My Cool Objectives

Later to be renamed as

“Unrealistic objectives/stupid objectives/fantasy objectives”

Wow! 5 day! Let’s see… erm… I can:

Do I need to say more? I think you have got the gist* of what was happening in my mind even before I started. I confess my action plan (haha) made me feel in control, like a successful proactive* woman! I enjoyed thinking with anticipation* about the results of my 5 days. However, I did have a little voice at the back my mind saying “Yes, sure, of course, hahaha*”

set up = organize a space and materials ready to do an activity. Prince Charming = the romantic, delightful Prince from the story Sleeping Beauty. Sleeping Beauty = the fairy tale about a girl who magically sleeps for many years. Open mic session = an event in a bar or club where people can go onto stage and perform. to shower someone with compliments = to say lots how good they are. Realm = land, kingdom. *to sign up for a course = to put your name on a list to do a course.

gist = general idea of something. proactive = adjective for someone who takes actions and doesn’t just think about it. anticipation = the enjoyable feeling when you think about something that will happen. hahaha = English laughing.

3) What happened.

The Super Bank holiday weekend or as it was later to be called “Here comes Reality”.

They were chilly* crisp blue-skied days with a feeling of winter and Christmas season having finally arrived. So, what happened? Well, maybe we should talk about what didn’t happen…

You may think procrastination hit me* hard, but no! For once I can say I wasn’t a victim to that. What hit me was a bad cold (fever, runny nose, cough, sore throats and earache*). Great! 🤒🤧 Due to* a terrible cold and fever I had to rethink my activities. I am proud to announce that, although I didn’t do the more exciting points on my list, I did manage 3 – almost. Which ones do you think I did? Let me go through the list.

chilly = cold. to be hit by something = to be affected by something. earache = pain inside the ear. due to = because of. to scratch = to damage the skin with your nails or something sharp. wound = the damaged skin. *to not end up = finally not do

4) How I feel about it

Am I disappointed by the lack* of productivity in these days?

No, not really. I’m happy I managed to do my online courses and I had a fantastic time with my friends even with my croaky voice*. I know a bad cold is just a bad cold and rest, warm drinks and sleep are needed. I did enjoy the anticipation of my over-ambitious* plans and perhaps soon I will do them. I suppose this must make me an optimist. I am willing to try again! Watch this ted talk to find out about the Optimism Bias.