Extreme sports are all about the rush and the buzz.
Extreme optimism is no different.
There is something about being optimistic that gives me a thrill. It’s exciting, it’s enjoyable and it’s addictive, even in the face of the most hopeless circumstances.
There is a name we give to someone who displays extreme optimism and it is a Tapleyist.
Explain!
Ok, I will.
If you are a Charles Dickens fan and you have read Martin Chuzzlewit then you will be familiar with one of his characters: Mark Tapley.
Now Mark is something rather special because he pulsates positivity and is as chipper as they come. It is his mission, and obsession, to remain jolly in the face of pain, unpleasantness, and adversity.
He seeks out the kinds of dire situations that would drive most people mad. A form of egosim perhaps, but a powerful force nonetheless. He has a lightness of heart and a freshness of spirit.
Mark’s unquenchable optimism is tested when he accompanies his boss Martin Chuzzlewit on a trip to America.
They end up staying in a place called Eden which is basically a swampy, disease-ridden town populated by criminals and vagabonds. Both come down with malaria and develop life-threatening fevers. When asked how he’s doing, he responds: “Floored for the present, sir, but jolly!”
Floored for the present, sir, but jolly!
Tapleyism is therefore undying optimism even in the face of desperate circumstances and the gloomiest of prospects.
Are you a Tapleyist?
If you can answer ‘yes’ to the following then consider yourself a member of the Mark Tapley Club!
- jollity under all circumstances?
- undented ebullience?
- actively seeks out adversity?
- indefatigable character?
- stout-hearted?
- bears up with good humour under life’s vicissitudes?
- relentlessly chipper?
- rose-coloured prism?
- deft optimism?
- perpetually cheerful?
- unfettered buoyancy?
- remain good humoured even in the most dire conditions?
That’s quite the job description but one that you might well match.
If you are a Tapleyist then you welcome challenging situations because it is in these moments that we grow stronger.
Mark is the eptiome of optimism, full of life, spirit and energy. Nothing gets him down and no one sees him down in the dumps or out of heart. He is a professional optimist and no one can fail to be impressed by his wonderful spirit of positivity and hope.
How the Dickens does he remain so upbeat?
Well, he’s intelligent, kind, resourceful, and energetic blessed with an inner strength that is born out of a need to test himself but it is his concern for others that helps keep him jolly.
What makes Mark remarkable is that he chooses not to stay in the comfort zones of somewhere like the the Blue Dragon Inn but he deliberately sets off to find somewhere desolate, doleful, dismal and challenging to prove that he can “come out strong under circumstances as would keep other men down”. Helping others along the way is a key part of keeping happy.
When faced with an impossible situation then that is the time to summon up all the Mark Tapley you can and meet it was a jolly countenance – it will get you through it and out the other side, smiling of course.
My self-defined mission when diagnosed was to remain positive with a smile on my face in any situation, no matter how trying. That makes me a Tapleyist!
Is the character of ‘Mark Tapley’ Dickens’s richest legacy to humanity? He is a figure of genuine, heroic goodness and a role model for us all. Although he might take stoicism to an almost absurd level, his worldview is irresistible for it is filled with hope, happiness and kind-heartedness.
His message is one of strength, fortitude and cheerfulness mixed with a great sense of humour. Apply it to any situation you like but Tapleyism will serve you well if you have been diagnosed with cancer. This is the time when jollity might desert us for good but only if we let it. We can all tap into Tapleyism and make our mark, just like Mark.
We can choose, a la Mark Tapley, to stay jolly through a horrible experience, not because we are ignoring the reality of our situation, but because it is in our best interests to still recognise the good around us. You will fair better when under pressure if you have Tapleyism inside of you.
If you can be a Mark Tapley in the midst of misery then you are an extreme optimist. Why not set up your own Tapelyan Society?
One more thing…..
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