Tough (Question) Tuesday: How can you remember to be optimistic?
Look on the Bright Side – Love & Peace Series by myzoetrope, found via kind over matter
Do you see the light at the end of the tunnel, but have trouble believing you’ll reach it, nevertheless go through it & wind up on the other side? Then ask:
How can you remember to be optimistic about your goal?
Join me in the comments section with your reply! Read ya there! (As opposed to “see ya there!”, because technically, we can’t see each other…sorry. I should just quit while I’m ahead).
Related posts:
August 25th, 2009 at 10:21 am
So much has come from this question for me, & I think it’s going to develop into a nice newsletter article, but until then…I can remain optimistic about becoming a successful full-time coach by repeating my mantra, “I will be a financially successful coach” every time I feel that negative tape start to play. I also know that by allowing myself to explore what that life will be like – how I won’t stress about money, how I’ll wake up every day excited for it to begin, how I’ll get to decide where & how & when I work, how I’ll spend my days working with people who energize me – without putting up that dumb Disappointment Shield I’ve been using for decades (acting’s a bitch, people), I’ll allowing myself to trust that I will get paid well for doing something I love. That’s just so exciting & so scary & so foreign for me, but I can give myself that picture & know that it’s absolutely worth working towards & absolutely possible. I’m also (also) going to flesh out my business plan so I can really, really see what that life will be like, & have it on hand to tangibly look at.
August 25th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
I consider myself to be very fortunate because I am, I think, naturally optimistic. My younger son was really negative about school when he started and so I found myself saying to him at night, “Tell me one good thing that happened at school today.” This was followed by “Tell me one thing you are looking forward to tomorrow.” And being a smart kid, he quickly turned the questions back to me {I was a teacher before I retired} and I found I had to think very little to come up with an answer…
August 26th, 2009 at 9:04 am
This is *hugely* up for me right now. We’re headed back to the “reproductive endocrinologists” tomorrow after about a three year hiatus on a six+ year journey to bring a child into our lives. Even as I type that and think about diving back into the fertility clinic route, I have this numb, nervous feeling all over my body just inside my skin! I was feeling really optimistic about the whole thing, but then starting reading statistics and success rate data and all that crap, and got really dejected and scared. So, last evening, as I was mowing the lawn (great zen thing to do), I realized that what was going to keep me optimistic is keeping my eye on the ball…remembering what this is all for the sake of. Right now, for me, it’s truly for the sake of helping this kid that I feel so wants to be here with us get it’s little butt out into the world! And trusting that with his or her help and desire to be here, and our desire to have him/her here, we’re unstoppable! Now–writing that? I feel a huge giddiness bubble up inside, tears coming to my eyes, and excitement in my heart. THAT’S how I’m staying optimistic…remembering what it’s all for the sake of.
August 26th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Patricia – What a wonderful quality to have! I love that you’re passing it along to your son & having him think about what he can be grateful/excited for instead of harping on the crappy stuff.
Laura – Thanks for your open, honest response & amazing perspective. I know that this kid is gonna be so lucky to get here & play with you & your husband!
August 27th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
You know, I feel like I used to be natuarally optimistic and then started to falter through the years…can’t really pinpoint it, but I think I was also behind the “shield of disappointment”, and it starts to wear away at you til you wake up and realize it is increasingly difficult to muster up the energy to stay positive. I commented to a friend not so long ago that she was always so calm yet happy and didn’t seemingly let anything ruin her good time. Her response was, it is definitely a choice. This may seem obvious to most people, but it was like someone hitting me across the face: DUH. Why do I CHOOSE to believe the worst? Why do I continually EXPECT to be disappointed? So now, I have to get up and make a choice every day: How am I going to view the world today? Am I going to let the b*****rds get me down?
It doesn’t always go well. And sometimes I have to re-make the choice at some point during the day. But at least I am thinking about it. It is very helpful to have one thing planned every day that takes me closer to the goal I am working on right now…today I send an email, today I register for my next race, today I buy markers and draw logo ideas, today I…you get the idea. Every little thing I do makes the fairy dust twinkles go off in my head and then the stupid icky day job things don’t seem so terrible.
I know, it’s not Tuesday anymore…do I get points off for being late?
August 28th, 2009 at 10:29 am
There are NEVER points off for being late in any of my comments, Andi. Comment from a post a year ago & I’m just as thrilled to see it! You are doing amazing with your perspective, your frame of mind, your forward movement & your commitment to your goals. Is there a mantra, maybe, that you can come up with to help you along with the stupid icky day job things? So that you remember to choose to be positive?