The Power of Optimism

Have you ever thought about the power of optimism? On the contrary, have you experienced the power of pessimism?

In his book Attitude is Everything, author Jeff Keller expresses that if you change your attitude, you change your life! The idea that we become what we think about has also been expressed as the “Law of Dominant Thought”. I am here to tell everyone that it works and is real.

For much of my early life, I had a tendency to be pessimistic and to easily develop a negative attitude and outlook. This was challenged by a manager at an employer during college and that interaction changed me for good. At the time, I was disgruntled because I was promised a promotion and was passed over several times by others who had no experience and were underqualified in my mind. My attitude degraded until one day when I boss sat me down and we talked through it. At the culmination of that conversation, we had an agreement: if my attitude improved, I would be promoted. In a month, I had a new role.

That was nearly 30 years ago, and I have never looked back. Sure, I have my moments where I get frustrated, but I have adopted a never-say-die attitude that has served me very well.

Why does this matter to all of you? Isn’t it obvious? We all have the power to choose our attitude and accomplish anything that we set our minds to.

Beyond ourselves, an optimistic and positive approach is contagious. It affects everyone around you, whether you realize it or not. Likewise, pessimism does the same thing, much like a cancer, it can take everyone down around you. If given the choice of happiness or misery, what would you prefer? It seems like an easy question with an obvious answer, but how many people do you know who live their lives miserably because they lack optimism?

There are more books written on this topic than I can list, but I can say with confidence that your attitude is the key to unlocking your full potential and delivering a happy and rewarding life. Things don’t make us happy; we choose to be happy, or we choose not to.

Either way, we have control, and we get to make a choice. The results are very rewarding, and with the added benefit of having a positive impact on others, it seems like a no-brainer.