One of the most important traits everyone needs to adopt is the power of optimism, as it can positively affect ones mental and physical health. Optimists have a tendency to see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. This in turn gives them the strength to keep going no matter what obstacles come their way.
Winston Churchill said that “a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Optimism is defined as “a feeling or belief that good things will happen in the future : a feeling or belief that what you hope for will happen.”
“As a generalized expectancy that good, as opposed to bad, outcomes will generally occur when confronted with problems across important life domains” (Franken, 1994).
Optimism is a hopeful, positive outlook on the future, and gives you the inner strength to get through all obstacles.
Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. My optimism, then, does not rest on the absence of evil, but on a glad belief in the preponderance of good and a willing effort always to cooperate with the good, that it may prevail. Helen Keller
I found this Helen Keller quote incredibly powerful. Long before self-help books became so popular, she wrote a timeless essay on optimism as a philosophy of life. This amazing woman who grew up without sight and hearing and yet made an incredible life proves beyond doubt the power of optimism.
You don’t have to be a “born optimist” to use the power of optimism. In daily life, or when faced with a crisis, you can choose a positive viewpoint to make the most of what life brings your way. You can be sure it is so much better than allowing negativity and doubt to take over.
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” Helen Keller
You can choose to interpret your circumstances as bad, or you can see them as good. When you choose to see the good, you’re tapping into the amazing power of optimism and changing your life for the better. Optimists bounce back because they see setbacks as temporary and therefore changeable.
If you approach life with a sense of possibility and the expectation of positive results, you’re more likely to have a life in which possibilities are realized and results are positive. Yes, make no mistake about it: we live in difficult, uncertain, and confusing times. In life’s most difficult situations, it is our capacity to cope and our personal resiliency that that are put to the ultimate test.
Optimism is a massive driver of performance. It is what got me through every disaster I faced. No matter how bad things were within me I still held on to the optimism of what the future would bring. It provided me with the inner strength as well as guided and motivated me to carry on believing that I would achieve a positive outcome. Even in the worst of negative situations, my optimism helped me to believe and ensure I left no stone unturned moving towards my targets.
You see optimists face problems head on and take active steps to solve problems. They are also less likely to abandon their efforts to reach their goals. I believe we all have the power to choose optimism.
“When you wake up every day, you have two choices. You can either be positive or negative; an optimist or a pessimist. I choose to be an optimist. It’s all a matter of perspective.” Harvey Mackay
Today if you’re feeling like the worlds against you, everything seems to be going wrong, ask yourself which way are you going to interpret things. As a pessimist who just knows everything always goes wrong for you and this will never change or an optimist who just knows things will turn around, you’re going to have to work hard to ensure it does, but if you do, it will. Which mindset do you want for yourself?
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist see the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill
Optimism is a choice as is pessimism. Each day we have a choice. Which perspective will you choose – the optimist or the pessimist?
“Pessimism is an entrenched habit of mind that has sweeping and disastrous consequences: depressed mood, resignation, underachievement and even unexpectedly poor physical health.” Seligman
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