“Force Multipliers…”
Shared by Kristina Smedley
“Force Multipliers…”
Polly-Anna, Negative-Nelly, Realist-Rick.
(yeah ok, I made that last one up.)
There is an enormous benefit to being an optimist. Optimists enter into new territory with high expectations, whereas pessimists tend to keep expectations low to prepare for negative outcomes.
Optimists see opportunities when pessimists see roadblocks.
I know what you’re thinking… “I’m not an optimist or a pessimist. I’m just a realist. I use facts, data, and past experiences to guide my expectations.” I used to say this too.
And my response is… “We get what we expect.”
So, if your dream is to create a future just like your past or incrementally better, then embracing that realist demeanor is the way to go. Check in to those facts and data points and make steady improvements on how things used to be and are today.
If the dream is to protect against all possible negative outcomes, look for things to go wrong and void them, and reassure the internal dialog of “ha. I knew it wouldn’t work out,” then a constantly pessimistic attitude should do the trick.
You’ll certainly get what you expect.
But if the dream is to create something new, to build something exciting, to create step-function change, then optimism is key!
Colin Powell, a retired four-star general and past US Secretary of State, once said, “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”
A force-multiplier!
A force multiplier is a thing or combination of things that radically increase the ability to accomplish greatness, compared to what would have been possible without it.
Like a lever.
Levers affect the amount of effort or force that is needed to do a certain amount of work.
This could be experienced through using a dolly to lift heavy boxes or using optimism to paint a vivid picture of a future that others are excited about.
In both cases, more can be achieved with the lever than without.
The Mindfluent leader is fiercely optimistic and leverages the fact that as optimistic qualities build upon one another and spread, optimism becomes a force multiplier.
Optimists expect positive results and work hard to bring them into reality.
Optimists often see failures as a time to grow, as a new start.
Optimism allows us to see and experience expanding realities, filled with potential.
And recent research shows that optimists carry less stress and are healthier.
Optimism is contagious.
Optimists are the people I love to surround myself with, to work with, to follow, and to enjoy life with.
Viktor Frankl, a neurologist, psychologist, and holocaust survivor, once said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
I choose optimism. I hope you will too.
#FiercelyOptimistic
#InspirationallyImpactful
#MindfullyEvolving
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