Be Optimistic

Some people think that optimism is about living in a Pollyanna world where everything is nice and bad things never happen to good people. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Optimism really is a courageous state of mind – one that comes from a person’s desire, effort, and choice to accept and make the best of difficult situations. Certainly, the road of optimism is not without its potholes. And that’s especially true from those in leadership positions.

If you serve as a leader long enough, you’ll undoubtedly come face to face with setbacks and unexpected events that have the potential to be devastating. People and situations change, and your ability to remain optimistic will surely be tested against fear of the unknown. Refusing to engage in the all-too-common “woe is me” lament takes courage.

The optimistic leader believes that defeat is a temporary setback – isolated to a given situation. He or she wants the best possible outcome and therefore concentrates on finding something positive and hopeful in what appears to be a hopeless situation. This is a leader who understands a basic principle of human nature: You usually see whatever it is you are looking for.

There is an endearing story about how optimistic people look at situations differently – seeing the potential that others fail to realize. It goes like this: Two researchers were independently dispatched to one of the world’s least developed countries by a large shoe manufacturer. Their task was to assess the business possibilities within that country.

When the first report came back to the manufacturer’s headquarters, the message read: “No market here. Nobody wears shoes!” A few days later, the second report came back from the other researcher. It read: “Great market here. Nobody wears shoes!”