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Change your way of speaking to be more optimistic - Here are things you should start saying
1. "Next time"
I was waiting for the elevator yesterday and as it was coming; someone went in front of me to take it. I was shocked and simply said “hey!”, but it didn’t change anything. I waited for the next one yelling at myself. If only I’d found something to say. Even if it was just: “I was there before you.” or “I was waiting.” It's time to put an end to this! To look on the bright side of life, you have to stop playing it over in your mind with “if only”, but rather say “next time”. By doing this, we give ourselves another chance!
2. "I want"
My mom is not a very discreet person but she always told me never to say “I want” because it’s not very proper to impose your wishes in a more or less forceful tone. I therefore spent much of my life saying “I would like very much like this.”, “I would very much like that.” The upshot being I was very often disappointed. With optimism, you don’t do half measures, “you want” something, that’s all! In order to believe in your own success and get want you wish, the conditional is not appropriate.
>>> Discover more ways to be positive and optimistic here
3. "It’s challenging"
Stress is crippling and the simple fact of saying you are stressed increases your apprehension and anxiety even more. So, don’t describe a situation as stressful any more, but opt instead for excitement or stimulation. If you say you are stimulated instead of stressed, you will feel the effects. When faced with something difficult that you feel incapable of doing well, you will be full of motivation, asking yourself how to succeed rather than just trying.
4. "I'm learning"
Nelson Mandela said, “I never lose. Either I win or I learn.” I don’t think there is any greater proof of optimism. When we want to be positive and look on the bright side of life, we have to stop speaking about mistakes and failures. It’s more about trying, chances and lessons learnt. We no longer make mistakes; we learn before giving ourselves another chance.
5. "It’s all good"
Oh, the famous it’s not bad! When I hear myself saying it, I almost feel like biting my tongue. There’s nothing more half-hearted and discouraging than an “it’s not bad”, especially if nothing is added. Encouragement is a great motivator, as much as for you as for others. Replace “it’s not bad” with “it’s good” and everything immediately takes a different turn. You want to go even further to do even better.
>>> Discover the 8 things you shouldn't care about.
6. "I have a plan B"
It’s what happy people have in common, always having a back-up plan and it’s undeniably what will help you to have confidence in the future. If plan A fails, you don’t get disappointed, full of frustration and deception. No, on the contrary, you put plan B into action and off you go again.
Editor’s note – Optimism isn’t naivetyOptimism often gets bad press. It’s considered as naivety, a lack of intelligence and clear-headedness. But optimism isn’t a denial of reality, it’s more of a way of perceiving reality. There’s nothing stopping you from reconciling intelligence, critical thinking and optimism. Quite the opposite! Teaching your brain to see things more positively is also a path to more self-confidence and therefore more success and less self-disparaging. It’s difficult to stay optimistic in a context such as the one we’re living through at the moment but becoming positive also helps us to move forward and not give in to the static and disabling despair. |
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