Skip to main content

How to Become an Optimist: 3 Daily Habits To Help You Get Started

by 
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Winston Churchill
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
Maria Robinson
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
Anais Nin
One of the most common questions people ask me via email is how to become more of an optimist.
So this week I’d simply like to share three habits that can help you to get started with that. I use these myself just about every day to stay optimistic in pretty much any situation.
It may sometimes take a while before I find an optimistic thread of thought but these three habits usually help me to do it.
1. Ask yourself questions that let you see the optimistic viewpoint.
When I’m in what seems like a negative situation my most common way of making something better out of that is to ask myself questions that promote optimism and helps me to find solutions.
Questions like:
  • What is one thing that is positive or good about this situation?
  • What is one thing I can learn from this situation?
  • What is one opportunity within this situation?
These questions are not something that I can always use right away. Sometimes I need some time to process and accept the feelings and thoughts that arise.
But after a bit of time, when those thoughts and feelings have mostly passed, I ask myself one or more of these questions.
2. Get optimistic support from the world around you.
One of the most important factors if you want to be able to stay optimistic are the influences around you. Optimism is – just like enthusiasm – contagious.
So find ways to create an environment that supports you.
  • The people in your life. Try to spend more time with optimistic peopleand less time with people who seem to always be negative about things. Positive people will support you, add upbeat energy and can help you to find a constructive change in perspective when you have a situation that is bringing you down and when you are just making a mountain out of a molehill.
  • The information you let into your mind. One of the simplest things you can do to create and support your own optimism is simply to regularly read blogs and books and listen to or watch recordings created by optimistic people.
3. Start your day in an optimism creating way.
The way you start your day often sets the tone for the rest of it.
A stress-free morning leads to less stress and better focus during your day.
A work out early in your day leads to more energy throughout the day.
And optimism while you are eating your cereal or traveling to work or school can help you to stay positive and constructive as you go through the ups and downs of your day.
Three practical ways to get this good start is to:
  • Read or watch something optimistic or funny for 10-20 minutes during your morning.
  • Have an uplifting conversation over breakfast or early in your day.
  • Listen to a motivating audiobook or podcast as you ride the bus, your bicycle or while you’re walking somewhere.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We Don’t Know The Real Age of Nigerian Players - Rohr

Head coach of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr, has admitted he is not comfortable with the age factor of players based in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL). Rohr revealed that it is the reason he hardly invites them to the national team. “There is an existing problem with Nigeria based players. We cannot tell their real age,” he said in an interview with Brila FM. Goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa was the only home-based player invited by Rohr, for the recent games against Algeria and Senegal. The former Gabon and Burkina Faso coach, has however stated that the door is not closed on the best players in the NPFL.
Post a Comment
Read more

Comedian Basketmouth robbed in his Lekki home

Basketmouth Famous Nigerian stand-up comedian, Bright Okpocha popularly known as Basketmouth and his family were in the early hours of this morning robbed at their Lekki home at gunpoint. His close friend and colleague, comedian Bovi took to his Instagram page to say that Basketmouth and family are safe and unhurt after the robber’s invasion. According to Bovi, the bandits carted away valuables and the security footage. See his post below:
Post a Comment
Read more

Kenny Baker, actor behind R2-D2, dies

The 3ft 8in actor, who starred in six Star Wars films as well as Time Bandits and Flash Gordon, was 81 The British actor who played R2-D2 in the Star Wars films has died at the age of 81 after a long illness. Kenny Baker, who was 3ft 8in tall, shot to fame in 1977 when he first played the robot character. Meeting Kenny Baker, the real-live human behind R2-D2 He went on to play the character in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as well as the three Star Wars prequels from 1999 to 2005. He also appeared in a number of other much loved films in the 1980s, including The Elephant Man, Time Bandits and Flash Gordon. His niece, Abigail Shield, paid tribute to her uncle. She told the Guardian: “It was expected, but it’s sad nonetheless. He had a very long and fulfilled life. He brought lots of happiness to people and we’ll be celebrating the fact that he was well loved throughout the world. We’re all very proud of what he achieved in his lifetime.” Baker and Shiel...
Post a Comment
Read more