Nov 5
Think about the successful people in your life. Would you characterize them as negative? Pessimistic? Down-trodden? I doubt it. Now think about the people in your life who have not yet attained success; people a little jealous of the successful group. Are they negative? pessimistic? Down-trodden? Most likely. Does that surprise you?
We all have in us the potential to be a pessimist, or an optimist. We also have in us the ability to create our ideal future. Those people you know who are successful. It probably seems that everything goes right for them, right? Wrong! Those people have just as many problems as the pessimists. It’s how they deal with them mentally that makes the difference.
But colin, I don’t know if I am an optimist or pessimist!
Personality tests are fun. If you answer honestly, you might get some insight into yourself. Take a look at this Optimism / Pessimism test. You can see how I did by clicking the image on the left. It’s kind of funny in the test that the lower your score, the better. I guess optimists can handle that better than pessimists!
Ok, I could be more optimistic, how can I get there?
This is by no means a comprehensive list… just a few suggestions on what I do:
- Celebrate every small victory - at BetaHouse, it has become a tradition that we take a vodka shot every time we roll out a new release of software. This happens a lot in the Agile Development Method. You don’t have to shoot vodka! But, you should develop your own ritual to celebrate victory.
- Focus on your goals, not what prevents you from reaching them - There will always be a reason why you cant do something. Forget it! You see a mountain in front of you. Your goal is to get to the other side. The optimist thinks “what can I do to achieve that”. The pessimist thinks “I can’t achieve that with what I have”. The optimist then goes to buy a bike to go around, or some climbing gear to go over.
- Do exercise - Set goals for yourself at the gym. When you achieve them, celebrate with a small victory. This is even better if you do it with a buddy who encourages you (thanks Ben!).
Give out positive vibes - Think about how you can raise others up instead of criticizing them and bringing them down. When is the last time you told someone at work how much you respect their work ethic. Positivity breeds positivity.
Most of the time you can change a day or an outcome based on your state of mind. The tips above help me to tweak my mind on a daily basis to stay on the positive / optimistic track.
How do you stay optimistic in everyday life?
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