You crave it, the high of success. You’ve become so obsessed it keeps you up until 2:00am, and you do everything in your power to obtain it. You stalk your idols, thinking if you watch them long enough, you’ll be like them. You’re hanging onto their words, like a castaway on an island, waiting for his radio to pick up the slightest frequency of a nearby ship.

Despite your desire to succeed, you feel fed up, your motivation has evaporated and you want to throw in the towel. You can’t help wondering why you aren’t successful after working so hard.

The harsh truth is it takes much more than that because you cannot rely on your desire to succeed. With all the drive in the world, you still need fuel. Your fuel is optimism, and without it, you cannot push when conditions get tough. 

Optimism is like your bicep, it can get stronger. Acknowledge that and you’re already optimistic. I know it is an overused analogy, but think about it. Believing you can get better will make you look at the positives in every situation because you know they’re there. Hardships aren’t menacing figures anymore because you know they can be overcome.

This is a great start to adopting optimism, but you can’t rely on this. Your optimism needs to be strong, so below I share with you 6 ways to quadruple your optimism and help you achieve the success you yearn for.

1. Crack jokes at the worst times

If you can find humor during times of adversity, not only will you propel your optimism, but others will be magnetised towards you. I remember making a mistake in a company I was working with, which led to the owner saying: “Do this again, and our relationship is over.”

To calm my nerves, I went for a walk and ended up cracking my ankle, needing a cast. Then, I ate a combination of meals resulting in food poisoning. My day was going great    (see what I did there).

In my weekly meeting with the owner, I joked around asking if he voodooed me as revenge, which he laughingly replied no. He praised my humor, saying any other person would crawl in a ball and hide from the world. Jokes bring laughter, and if you can laugh through your problems, not only you boost your optimism, you inspire others. That, is success in it’s own right.

2. When a problem rises, slap it in the face.

We tend to dwell on our problems instead of finding solutions. We overlook them, focusing on ‘more important’ matters, and the problem just looms at the back of our mind, stressing us throughout the day.

When it rises, instead of letting it pester you, drop everything and solve it no matter how long it takes. Stick to this mentality and you will spearhead your problems on autopilot without sweating or shaking over them for hours.

“A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” – Duke Ellington

3. Carry a notebook with you 24/7

The alternative to slapping your problems is writing about them and saving them for later. You might think this contradicts the above point, but it doesn’t.

Writing your problems down not only makes it easier to find solutions, subconsciously it also removes them from your mind, since you transfer your negative thoughts on paper. As a result, your mind is clearer and your optimism is boosted so keep a notebook handy!

4. Kick your feet up and relax

Nothing drains your optimism faster than being overworked without breaks in between. How can you be positive if all you’re looking forward to is work?

You won’t achieve your dreams tomorrow, and you won’t be a failure if you take a breather. Schedule breaks and engage in activities you enjoy. Your optimism will skyrocket as a result. Remember, like a car, you can’t be in sixth gear forever, go down to first, and back up again.

5. Have a kickass morning routine

Thinking of work from the crack of dawn won’t make you succeed faster and will crush your optimism. Beat up your mind, and it will beat you back. Instead, nurture it. Have a shower, exercise, read a book, have breakfast. Give yourself a few hours of preparation before you dive into work. Your mind will reward you with limitless optimism and you’ll accomplish all your tasks for the day, since your morning routine has primed you for success.

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive; to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius

6. Stop surrounding yourself with Optimists

Surrounding yourself with optimists is great at the start, but when you get used to optimism, pessimism hits you harder. I remember meeting someone after a long time. We greeted, followed by monologue of him complaining about everything negative in his life. This shocked my system, so I just clocked out, waiting for the encounter to end.

This is a bad approach. You can’t just lock yourself away, protected by the optimists bubble. You need thicken your skin and realize the world isn’t filled with optimists, so surrounding yourself with them may make you frail.

Instead, help other individuals improve their mindset instead of pushing them away. Be the optimist they need. Challenging pessimism will only strengthen your optimism because optimism is the backbone of your success so don’t neglect it.

Acknowledge that optimism can be trained and slowly improve it in a way that suits you. Don’t let my list intimidate you, pick one habit at a time and master it. Stick to this and you will be an unstoppable force. You will develop unbreakable focus and infinite hunger to succeed, your positivity will shine through adversity, but most importantly:

You will be successful so what are you waiting for? Train your optimism and go, feast like never before because the world is your oyster.

How do you maintain a positive mindset in order to succeed? Please let us know in the comments below!

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