How many people can be described as optimistic?
What is optimism and how can it play an important role in our thoughts and successes?
Can optimism increase our self esteem, confidence and improve our motivation?
Optimism can be defined as a positive approach to life, always having an upbeat attitude that places us in the right position to achieve success. An optimist will believe that things will always turn out great despite the tough times that life throws up from time to time. Optimism cushions us from despair and hopelessness when the going gets tough.
Optimism has been defined by Martin Seligman, author of many books on this subject, by how we see events, using the three dimensions internal/external, permanent/temporary and pervasive/specific. An optimist will credit him/herself for the good times (internal), believing the good times will last (permanent) and these will affect other parts of their lives (pervasive). When the going does get tough, an optimist puts this down to circumstances outside of their control (external), the problems won’t last (temporary) and they only affect this particular situation (specific).
The pessimist on the other hand will see things in totally the reverse.
An optimist will see a life full of abundance. They will see a glass as being half full whilst the pessimist will see it as being half empty.
Self esteem can very much determine whether or not we are optimists. If we truly believe we are worthwhile people who deserve happiness and abundance we will see the world in a positive light. We will view ourselves positively as well.
If we fail to get that promotion we were after we say to ourselves,
“I don’t have the skills that they were looking for yet, but I know that if I study and practice I will develop those skills and be better placed next time.”
By saying “I’m not good enough, perhaps I’m not cut out for promotion” is very much the attitude of the pessimist. Pessimists blame themselves when things don’t happen the way they would like and then give up when the hard times come around.
Like many traits in our personality, optimism/pessimism is determined in our early years by our temperament and how we react to events as we go through life, influenced by our environment, family, peers and our education. However, optimism can be learned and a tendency towards pessimism can be overturned.
Just one technique is to catch ourselves when thinking negatively and focus on a more positive view.
“I’m rubbish at playing squash, I’m going to give up playing” can be turned into “I can easily enjoy squash without having to be perfect at it”.
Many of the most successful people are optimists, achieving great things because they have confidence in themselves and believe that they deserve happiness and abundance. Optimism gives them the motivation to go out and succeed and their optimism is an inspiration to so many others.
Terry Norrington
www.whitedovebooks.co.uk/index#terryn1
www.getselfconfident.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment