Optimism: It’s a Choice

Posted on October 05, 2020 by Ellen Burgan, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

Optimism is not just cheerfulness for no reason, it’s a conscious decision to live your life choosing to have a positive attitude and expect good things to happen. Being an optimist can help you live life to the fullest.

“Positive thinking is more than just a tagline. It changes the way we behave. And I firmly believe that when I am positive, it not only makes me better, but it also makes those around me better.” ~Harvey Mackay

I particularly like that quote because it points out that my attitude effects me AND others around me. Making life better for someone else is a good feeling.

Knowing that I have a positive effect on someone else would definitely bring me joy.

IMPORTANCE OF AN OPTIMISTIC ATTITUDE

Your attitude is essential to your happiness, and research has proven that optimistic people are happier.

If you are optimistic and see a bright future, you’ll naturally find more joy in life.

In preparing for this post, my *research uncovered the following reasons you might want to strive to be more optimistic.

Positive, Optimistic People Tend To:

- Handle stress better
- Have healthier relationships
- Live longer, healthier lives
- Be more productive
- Be more likely to reach their goals

Optimism feels a lot better than pessimism. You have control of your experience.

Clean up your attitude and realize that only you can bring more of the feel-good optimism into your life.

If you’re a “glass is half empty” type of person, here are some ideas for how you can grow your optimism by training your brain to think more optimistically.

5 SIMPLE DAILY HABITS TO BECOME MORE OPTIMISTIC

1 – Slow down and be mindful.

Sometimes a busy lifestyle makes you feel rushed and scattered.

Slowing down can help you be present in the moment, and then it’ll be easier to be mindful to find the good in day-to-day life situations.

2 – Believe good things will come.

As my friends at Abraham-Hicks say, “a belief is just a thought you keep thinking.”

If you want something different than what is, then you have to envision it and believe in it.

Don’t work against yourself. Stop pessimistic thoughts before they build momentum and get you to believe bad, rather than good will happen.

Scattering pessimism on your path will just give you a bumpy ride that simply isn’t necessary.

Believe and expect good things to come.

3 – Practice thinking positively.

If you make thinking positively part of your daily ritual, when you hit a challenge you’ll be better mentally equipped to tackle it with an optimistic attitude.

“Practice” is key because thinking positively needs to be an automatic reaction, and practice really does make that happen. You’ll be more apt to see the good in challenges the day brings you.

My favorite method of practicing positivity is each night I think about three good things that happened in my day.

4 – Surround yourself with optimistic, positive people.

Attitude is contagious! Start limiting the time you spend with Negative Nancys. Negative people can be emotionally draining.

Resist the temptation to join a conversation revolving around pessimism or complaining. If you find yourself stuck in one, try to influence the conversation to be more positive and optimistic in nature.

Complaining is something with which I really need to continually watch myself. Complaining can temporarily help me feel like I’m part of a little community, but afterward it makes me feel pretty bad about myself.

I’m getting better at recognizing a complaint session and knowing I need to get out of it. I don’t beat myself up if I do get involved in complaining, but because I recognized it I know that I’m growing.

Bottom line: Seek out happy people – it’s pretty easy to spot people with a “half full” glass.

5 – Be attuned to your attitude.

If you’re consciously aware of your attitude, you can adjust it when you find yourself less than optimistic.

If you realize you’re complaining or being more aware of what you lack versus what you have, stop and purposely refocus.

That reminds me of this inspirational quote by Helen Keller: “So much has been given to me; I have no time to pond over that which has been denied.”

Being conscious of having a grateful attitude, even for the little blessings in your life, will certainly help you be a positive and optimistic person. Strive to remain positive and upbeat.

CHOOSE OPTIMISM

Now you have some tools to build an optimistic mindset and remain there. In the end, the true test is how you feel about yourself.

- Did you attack your day with optimism?
- Did you find the bright side or maybe even find humor in things you can’t control?
- Did you have a positive effect on the people you encountered?

When you’re proud of your actions and reactions, you’re probably on a good path to being an optimistic person. Optimism won’t cure all our troubles, but it will make life more joyful.

It’s your choice; do you choose to be optimistic or pessimistic?