Angela Tebo Valadez: Optimistic People

Optimistic People are those who value change and choose to take the most hopeful or cheerful view of matters or to expect the best outcome.

“Every beginning is a consequence. Every beginning ends something.”–Paul Valery

Life is difficult and setbacks are common in the great game of business and in life. Each one of us has a choice about the attitude we bring to our day along with the actions we take.

Those who tend to prosper must first develop flexible optimism, resourcefulness, and persistence at the face of adversity and constant change.

Once you learn to control your attitudes and habits you will gain the ability to alter your life and influence others you live and work with.

When a person recognizes that their attitude ins’t right, it opens the door for positive change and tremendous opportunity. In other words optimistic realization that change is necessary.

Optimistic People tend to:

1. Acquire Perspective.

Acquiring perspective will enable you to respond realistically to the events in your life. They take their time and think things through and do not tend to make erratic decisions.

Don’t think short term. Perspective sees long range goals. Perspective doesn’t see each setback as a failure and will have the stick-to-it ability to stay with their endeavor until success is achieved.

2. Understand that Optimism can be learned.

Recognize that people often have catastrophic thoughts—feelings that everything is wrong and that nothing is going to change. Think of these thoughts as if they are being said by some external enemy whose mission in life is to make you miserable.

Then begin to dispute those thoughts. Begin by using cold, impersonal facts to maintain a reality-based perspective. If you struggle with the fear of flying, you note that the National Safety Council reports that you’re 37 times more likely to die in a vehicle crash than on a commercial airline.

3. Will Avoid A Victim Mentality and seize the day as a Survivor.

As long as you are alive, you always have options. Survivors make the best of the options they have while victims whine about how few they have. There is always something that you can do, the only question is whether a given action will work and if committed action is worth the investment of the time required to achieve the desired results. Survivors keep making choices one day at a time.

4. Are Patient.

Control what you can—position, perform and persist. Security is not a fact; it is a feeling—a feeling that you can control what you do. You don’t control all events that happen, but you do control your response to events.

Reinhold Niebuhr: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

5. Move from Analysis Paralysis into Action.

They will learn to cultivate a continual sense of adventure that searches for and takes advantage of every opportunity. Failure to act doesn’t prevent failure, it just turns life into slow death. Action takers take Action immediately.

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”-Yogi Berra

6. Acquire a Sense of Humor.

A Sense of Humor has the ability to soften the blows of life. What may now seem humiliating, will later in retrospect be funny. Why? Because you learned something from the issue.

Humor provides perspective that breaks the stress cycle and invites a more positive attitude. If you know that some day you will laugh at a problem, don’t wait—laugh as quickly as you can!

Take your job and life seriously, but yourself lightly. Never forget that some days you’ll be the bug on the windshield, and some days you’re the windshield. That’s a perspective worth remembering in these challenging times.

See your mistakes as valuable lessons learned. Identify what was done wrong, but put your focus on the future: What are you going to do to rectify the problem? How will you handle it next time?

7. Maintain a Positive Attitude.

Always take your health habits seriously in difficult times. Eat right, exercise, get plenty of sleep, and include daily stress breaks in your day. Maintaining your health habits can do wonders to help you sustain your optimism and manage your increased stress levels.

8. Find the power of Purpose and Serving Others.

There is passion in being fully engaged in a meaningful mission and in doing your share of random acts of kindness. You make a difference for yourself when you make a difference for others. Faith, values and integrity are in.

People of faith tend not live in fear, but find peace in faith. Core values help direct your choices. They are both your anchor in the rough sea and the lighthouse that helps illuminate a positive and principled course in uncertain times. Honor is a gift you give yourself.

9. Expect To Succeed.

Success will rarely come to those who are expecting failure. People tend to live up to high expectations. If you hold high expectations of yourself, you will perform up to those expectations. Then visualize yourself being successful.

10. Maintain an Attitude of Gratitude.

Unrealistic expectations are a sure road to disappointment. Optimists hope for more, but are not thrown by less. Start counting your blessings instead of your problems. Give thanks throughout the day. Choose to be happy, instead of being unhappy until something makes you happy. End the day by identifying five things for which you are grateful.

Optimistic People enjoy mental and emotional balance and are self-reliant and self-determining. They never blame others for their shortcomings. They take responsibility for their own mistakes. They are Overcomers!

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