Wouldn’t it be great to be referred to as a fantastic person? The word fantastic is used in multiple contexts and technically often used incorrectly, but most often used when describing something very positive.
If describing you, by informal definition fantastic would mean you are extraordinarily good or attractive. Synonyms for your fantastic being would include wonderful, dazzling, sensational and marvelous. Wow! If you are fantastic, you must be impressive! This definition is something to aspire to but distinctly different than most people I know or who I am. So, if you or I described another person this way, it would likely be stretching the truth a bit and perhaps an illustration of flattery. Flattery, of course, is disingenuous and self-serving. We wouldn’t likely be intending it that way, however, unless being sarcastic.
A formal definition of fantastic is imaginative or fanciful; remote from reality. Synonyms include extravagant, irrational, wild and absurd. Now, that is more like me than the informal definition. However, why would you or I ever describe another human being that way? It surely wouldn’t be complimentary, and it surely would be judgmental.
Whether we use the informal or formal definition for describing someone is a matter of attitude. If we feel positive about someone, we will use the informal version and quite the opposite if struggling with a specific personality or an individual’s behavior.
I have sometimes used the formal definition to describe a movie that I may feel is a bit too over the top unrealistic. I describe Mission Impossible that way. In essence, I am being critical and have a somewhat negative attitude toward that production. On the other hand, I love Avatar and Star Wars. Perhaps because of characters like Chewbacca and Neytiri. I find them fantastic in a very cool way. Chewy makes me laugh, and Neytiri is feisty and beautiful. I never knew that pointed ears would be so appealing. I know that Chewy is by formal definition fantastic, but because he appeals to me, I refer to him as “fantastic” in a positive way. He is not only funny but loyal, skillful and courageous. Those are all excellent characteristics. Anyone with those traits would be someone you and I would likely refer to as a fantastic friend.
We often refer to talented people as fantastic, phenomenal or incredible. Mike Trout is a fantastic baseball player. The Boston Red Sox have a phenomenal baseball team. Michael Jordan was an incredible basketball player. Similarly, we describe people whose personalities appeal to us. Sometimes “He is a great guy” or “She is an amazing woman” are phrases used to describe people who we highly respect or like.
Moreover, don’t you and I both want our personality to be described in that way? It warms our heart, makes us feel loved and gives us confidence and assurance that things are good with us. I’m sure you are just that to some others. How did you manage that? Is it a gift or did you have to intentionally work on behavior and thoughts to get you to a place where others would think and say that? The chances are that you have developed a behavior pattern that appeals to those people. The development of anything positive takes intent and effort. Congratulations to you for accomplishing that achievement! If you are a fan of “fantastic,” you likely either continuously work at being positive, or you have done so long enough for it to become part of who you are and not just what you do.
People who maintain a positive attitude wake up thinking positive thoughts and looking forward to doing positive things. They think about possibilities instead of problems. Those same people provide answers instead of getting stuck on questions. They maintain an outlook on life that is different from some because they don’t sweat the small stuff and don’t let the past hurts, pains and mistakes linger into today ’s outlook or effect today’s behavior. Psalm 37:8 reads “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-it leads only to evil”. In other words, don’t get all wrapped around the axle about things that bother some others because it is not worth the effort, stress and negative feelings and actions that can result. Most people like being around people who behave in that upbeat manner.
I love some of the lyrics from the song Grace Got You by Mercy Me: “Have you ever met those who keep humming when the song’s through? It’s like they’re living life to a whole different tune. And have you ever met those that keep hoping when it’s hopeless? It’s like they figured out what the rest haven’t yet. Sing, so the back row hears you. Glide, ’cause walking just won’t do. Dance, you don’t have to know how to. Laugh, ’til your whole side’s hurting. When you’re standing in the rain again, you might as well be dancing. So next time when you feel blue don’t let that smile leave you!”
Those lyrics to me describe someone who wants to have a positive impact on the world and refuses to allow circumstances to get in the way of them maintaining an infectious attitude and being what I might refer to as “fantastic.”