Oftentimes we are faced with situations, people, or events that test our inner being to its fullest capacity.  During these times choosing to be optimistic rather than pessimistic is not always easy to do.  The good news is our immediate reactions to situations are quite often just habits.  

Consider how you would react to the following scenarios? 

Scenario 1:  You’ve packed up and about to leave the office for that weekend trip when your manager pops in to announce a brand new company initiative! You’ve been chosen to spearhead the project!  You are then told you will have to stay late to go over the details so it can be announced to everyone on the team Monday. 

Scenario 2:  The project you and your team have been working on for the last 3 months is transferred to another division. Then you learn that the company is downsizing but hasn’t announced what divisions are getting dissolved.

Scenario 3:  Remember the time your associate was promoted to the position you were in line for? You had 5 years experience over the other person.

Scenario 4:  It’s a very busy day at work.  You are barely meeting deadlines while racing to meetings and have not even had a chance to eat lunch.  Then your spouse calls to remind you that your dentist appointment is at 2:30pm and doesn’t want to have to reschedule it for you again.

Okay, some of these situations are extreme, while some are not.  What was your first reaction?  Was it optimistic? 

Optimism is an indicator of one’s positive attitude and outlook on life.  It involves remaining hopeful and resilient, despite occasional setbacks.   Frequently, our first reaction to difficult events/situations or people isn’t so positive.  We may experience shock, fear, confusion, disbelief, frustration, anger and so on.  To become more optimistic, first Pause & Reflect on what you’re feeling, then Process those feelings, Pick a Positive Response and Practice and Perform Optimistically.    The way we feel, whether in control of our emotion or not, is expressed verbally and nonverbally.  Our reactions affect everyone around us just as much as our own self.  It’s time to practice optimism.      

For those of you who Opt to be Optimistic with your Opportunities…..

Here are a few strategies to help create new habits and help us become more optimistically successful:

  1. Focus on creating a solution for the problem vs. what caused it
  2. When faced with a difficult task, imagine yourself completing it successfully
  3. Rekindle that passion and motivation in a project or goal by remembering why you began what you started in the first place
  4. Surround yourself with inspirational people and mentors
  5. Say something positive for every negative that is said to you
  6. Remind yourself that this is just a moment in time. Give yourself a break, this could be a growth opportunity.
  7. Remember the + / – signs of conversation. (plus or minus).  Negative comments deduct while positive comments help construct.  Recognize and act on opportunities to be constructive rather than destructive.

Truthfully, there’s always opportunity to practice optimism. Above are just a few strategies to help improve.  When we opt to practice improving our performance in optimism, we dissolve the strength of our old habits and replace them with new powerful habits that help strengthen our decisions, reduce our stress, build relationships, comfort our well being and positively impact every area of our life and others.  Opt to be Optimistic… there’s always Opportunities!

“The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds and the pessimist fears this is true.”  James Branch Cabell, 1926

Suggested Reading:

THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING, Norman Vincent Peale

LEARNED OPTIMISM, How to change your mind and your life, Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D.

THE EQ EDGE, Emotional Intelligence and Your Success, Steven J. Stein, Ph.D. and Howard E. Book, M.D.

Hold yourself accountable to your efforts in practicing these strategies for Optimism and build new habits.   Learn more about our EQ Growth Graphs and how they are used to develop skills in Emotional Intelligence.   Click here for the detail

Chris leads our workshop operations and program curriculum creation for client in-house leader development and certification programs. She is certified in the EQ-i 2.0 & EQ 360 as well as a Multi-Health Systems Master Trainer in the Pearman Personality Integrator, and HRG assessment.

Chris Hennessy Bio