Happy people are usually optimists, at least, I have never met a happy person who was a pessimist. So, let’s start with a possible definition of “optimism”: optimistic people generally have a positive and constructive approach to life, they usually are happy, content, and full of energy.
Traits of Optimistic People:
- Constructive and effective with their time
- They get the tools they need to be successful
- They are always looking for ways to improve: who can help? what do I need to become better
- Laser-sharp focus
They have an unwavering focus that leads to action, taking action changes things and action is needed to achieve goals.
AND to take massive action you need to be organized: The more organized you are with time, the more action you take, the more you get done!
To all those perfectionists out there: focus on task completion, not perfection, because this is what leads to goal achievement
- Lots of people are busy all day but accomplish little, they are like a hamster on a wheel, unhappy, frustrated, disappointed. This leads to negative self-talk and working on low-value tasks
- As such, critical tasks are left undone
- These undone tasks would make a big difference in business if they got done
- focus on 20% vital leads to 80% results
Productive people are different, they do not procrastinate on high-value tasks, they complete them first, even if it is hard and complex because the payoff is much better.
You may ask: Knowing all this, why aren’t more people optimists? Are you born that way?
No, you’re not born an optimist or pessimist. The fact is, optimism is a learned trait, just like time management, it is something we can learn, however, it takes effort, concentration and discipline: By adopting the qualities of an optimist, we will increase our productivity and positivity.
To become an optimist, we have to learn to think like one, eliminate negativity from our life as much as possible, surround ourselves with positive people, and avoid exposure to negative people.
There are 4 behaviors of optimistic people
- They think and talk about their goals: think and talk about what they want and how to get it
- They look for the good in every person and situation, practice positivity, focus and count their blessings, not curses, learn from mistakes, setbacks, problems and see opportunity in every failure. There’s a valuable lesson in every setback
- Feed your mind with positive material (book: power of positive thinking), always expect the best, expect success, keep trying new things
- Reap the power of rewards: optimists understand this that’s why they are productive and positive.
Give yourself rewards, rewards motivate, motivation leads to action, action changes things and get things done. If I do this 5 times, I get …, set up a reward structure, link a new habit with a reward, soon the subconscious mind wants the reward
You are internally impelled or motivated to engage in the habit because your subconscious mind wants the reward.
– Brian Tracy