5 Ways to Cultivate Optimism
Yvonne A Jones, CPS
Personal Business Coach | I Help Businesses Optimize Their Online Presence| Relationship BuildingStrategist| Speaker | Podcast Host | Writer | Columnist at BIZCATALYST360
“Optimism isn’t a belief that things will automatically get better, it’s a conviction that we can make things better.” ~ Melinda Gates
Have you ever wondered how it is that some people seem to exude optimism most of the time? They view the world with a ‘glass half-full’ attitude rather than a ‘glass half-empty’ one.
Both optimism and pessimism are filters through which you look at yourself and the world around you. They reflect your mindset. Optimism is not a built-in quality; it’s a behavior that has to be practiced every day for it to become a habit.
How do you cultivate optimism? Following are five simple suggestions:
1. Choose to be positive: Decide to be positive and maintain an optimistic outlook. What are your thoughts first thing in the mornings? Rather than focus on the challenges from the previous day, decide that today is going to be a wonderful and powerful day.
2. Keep a journal: Start your day by writing three things you’re grateful for and three things you’re looking forward to. If you’re just getting started with a journal, start with writing one or two until it becomes a habit. At the end of the day, write 1–3 things you’re grateful for. Remember to include how you felt, not just the facts.
3. Write to your future self: Imagine what you’d like your life to be like in the future and write a letter that serves to motivate you to achieve those goals.
4. Laugh: Be conscious of funny things that happen in your life daily and write them down. Laugh at and with yourself.
5. Say thank you: Write a letter or email or send a text to someone who has been genuinely kind to you and express your appreciation. Visit or phone someone, whether a relative, client, or someone you know socially and spread your own sunshine.
Do you consider yourself an optimistic person? If not, which of the above will you apply first?
I am Yvonne A Jones, best-selling author and international speaker and I help mature online service providers increase their income and impact without becoming marketing experts. My focus is on building relationships and a community. Let’s have a conversation and expand our community.
Teacher of Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, and the Psychology of Normal Human Memory
7 个月Yvonne A Jones, CPS, I think we each have to do whatever we can to help ourselves in life. Imagine being on the Titantic, as its post-collision sinking was inevitable, and doing nothing beyond saying, "I'm optimistic that I will survive this", compared to someone in the same predicament who spent time trying to find a practical way to outlive the disaster.
Increasing the Emotional Intelligence (EQ) of Business Leaders & Teams to Reduce Turnover, Optimize Culture, Boost Morale, and Increase Productivity
7 个月Yes, I am definitely an optimist. In reading your list of 5 things, I thought, "I don't write letters to my future self". However I DO speak life to myself by declaring what God says about me. Which is equivalent to writing to my future self. I'm just reading what my Creator already wrote about me. So I do all 5 of these things after all. ??