To be more optimistic try doing 8 things that improve our perspective.

Optimism is a beautiful quality that helps us stay focused on forward momentum when challenges attempt to undermine our progress.

Recognizing our propensity for negative thoughts helps us appreciate the effort required to replace counterproductive patterns with healthier alternatives.

Building a better narrative takes time and patience.? Like anything else, improvement requires commitment and plenty of setbacks.

Optimism is something we can cultivate and strengthen by concentrating on expressing our thoughts in a much more positive fashion.

Optimists have a positive way of explaining the world.? Their language is filled with hope and encouragement.? Unpleasant life events are unfortunate.? Optimists respond to these events by appreciating everything they can control and recognize everything they can’t.?

A pessimist normally has a negative attributional style.? They perceive life events as incidents that happen “to them”.? It’s difficult to move forward when the world is holding you back.? Pessimists often blame themselves for bad events.

Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.

So how do we become more optimistic?? 8 things can help:

Seek inspiration

Seeking inspiration is critical for maintaining an optimistic attitude.? It’s starts with defining our values and appreciating what inspires our soul.? Work without inspiration is uninspiring work.? Its hard to be optimistic when we dislike what we do. Make work and life more meaningful and optimism will improve.?

Speak nice to yourself

As we’ve discussed before, many of us conduct a negative conversation with ourselves.? It's evident in how we think and the words we use when speaking to others.? Speak to yourself with kindness, compassion and feelings of optimism won’t be as foreign.?

What really matters

When we get distracted with social media battles over ideology, theories, and political outrage, we invest our energy in distractions.? Avoid the noise and consider the source of our frustration.? Do random strangers and people with inveterate opinions really matter?? Focus on what really matters and notice a change in the way we think.?

Gratitude prevails

The power of gratitude is undeniable.? Practicing gratitude has enormous benefits and it’s a discipline that requires daily effort.? Start with 3 things each day you’re grateful for and stay focused on appreciating your blessings.? It works.

Sometimes when you're in a dark place you think you've been buried, but you've actually been planted.

Positive people

Surrounding ourselves with negative people cripples any attempt to stay positive.? The negative energy nullifies any effort to remain optimistic.? Gravitate away from people that don’t have anything good to say and replace those people with optimists.? You will notice a measurable change in your attitude.

Disengage

Conflict has a funny way of showing its face.? When we chose to engage every hostile person, every irritated colleague, and every frustrated social media bloviator, we get sucked into confrontation.? We can’t control the actions of others, but we can control our reaction to everything.?

Work out

The power of regular exercise is unparalleled.? Our bodies are meant to move and being active has incredible mental and physical benefits.? Whatever activities inspire you to remain active are worth the effort. Our mood improves and so does our attitude when we remain physically fit.

Real connection

It’s easy to get the impression that social media is a convenient alternative to genuine connection.? It isn’t.? Zoom calls are convenient but meeting in person is better.? Commenting on a friend’s post is nice, but it’s no substitute for meeting for lunch.? When we become comfortable with the convenience of technology, we neglect the real connections that make life magical.????

Write

Writing is a remarkable way to express our thoughts and reflect on emotional struggles.? Writing is therapeutic and creates a great platform for expressing gratitude.? Spend some time writing each day and notice how much more optimistic we become.??

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.

Sum it up.

Any other suggestions for maintaining an optimistic attitude?? Share your thoughts in the comments section and please like and share this article. I love learning from you as well.

About Steve:

Steve Wohlenhaus is CEO of Weatherology, the leading company in the world at disseminating audio weather information.?? Steve began his career as a major market television weather anchor in Minneapolis, where he received several Emmy Awards for science programming.? Steve is an author and host of the podcast program Anatomy of Success.? Reach out and connect with me on LinkedIn.? Learn more about my work and grab the free Weatherology mobile app by clicking any picture in this article!