I’ve been chatting about Optimism an awful lot recently.

In a previous blog I’ve outlined the slight differences between Optimism and Positivity, however, they are closely intertwined. I also found this article from Big Think, really helpful around this topic too.

As a reminder, the idea of Optimism can be encapsulated by the mindset and behaviours associated with the sentence of, “…hope for the best, however, plan for the worst…” Therefore, it is about striking the right balance between:

• being grounded in Reality

• being open to Criticism

• avoiding “blind faith”

• noticing when the doom mongers have taken over and

• having genuine belief that the Strengths, skills, capabilities, experiences, attitude, mindset and behaviours of yourself and your Support Network will enable you and others to face into and overcome your challenges.

Once you’ve achieved the above then it will also enable a sense of feeling positive, too.

If you’re not currently in an Optimistic state then here are some ideas and tips about how you could make a start, feel free to choose a couple and let me know how they are enabling you to move forward.

10 Tips to enable Optimism:

1. Write down 3 things that you can look forward to this month - I would also suggest you spend some time Visualising yourself doing these activities and create a mind-map/list of what your future self doing these activities - looks like, feels like and sounds like.

2. Look for the good in people around you today - make a conscious effort to see and notice the qualities, worthwhile behaviours and actions of family, friends, colleagues and in your own way - please tell them(!), what you’ve noticed and appreciated.

3. Ask yourself - “will this still matter a year from now?” - when there is something that is bothering you or using up a lot of head space, then I have found it is good to gain perspective and you can do this by asking yourself this question. It may also help to ask yourself whether it will matter next week or even tomorrow…?

4. Take time to reflect upon what you have accomplished recently - there is a large amount of research around the multitude of benefits of doing these reflections regularly. Taking the time to discover and accept what is good and right about you as a human being is highly recommended.

5. Ask for help to overcome an obstacle you are facing - please don’t always do things alone, people are willing to support you.

6. Make some progress on a task or project you have been avoiding - a question I often ask my Coaching clients is “…based upon our chat today, what is the next, first step you can take to achieve your goal/outcome/task?” This is all about, making a small start and seeing how that snowballs into the next step.

7. Avoid blaming yourself or others. Find a helpful way forward - I talk a lot with my clients about Self-Compassion as we can be good at beating ourselves up unnecessarily. This tip also has a link to Tip 4 around reminding yourself what is “good” and “right” about you - clarifying this will reduce the less helpful thoughts and feelings you are having about yourself.

8. Share an important goal with someone you Trust - when you do this, they are likely to respond with support, encouragement, enthusiasm and excitement as they are someone you Trust and they care about you. They will treat your goal with the respect and care it deserves.

9. You can’t do everything!! What are your 3 priorities right now? Not everything can be of equal Priority (even if lots of people are telling you so!). think about either your overall Purpose or your Goal for that day/week and your “top” priorities will emerge.

10. Plan a fun or exciting activity to look forward to - I have been lucky enough to have done this recently - it won’t be happening until next year, however, I keep thinking about it and smiling.

There will be many more Tips and these are just 10 that I chose from some reading I have been doing recently. Let me know which ones are working for you and any others that have worked for you.

Optimism clearly supports my definition of Resilience which is about Pausing, Reflecting, Re-energising and Learning from life’s events, so that you can Spring Forward. Your reflections and learning can all feed into a renewed sense of Optimism.

As always, if you would like a chat then email me: russell@theresiliencecoach.co.uk