The following post is an excerpt from Emotional Aptitude In Sports NOW available through most online retailers! Click Here to Order
Optimism, Mindsets and Life Skills
There is no other way to start this book than with a glance into one of the most important topics of my life: Choosing optimism versus pessimism. Optimism is an attitude of being hopeful about the future and choosing to seek the positive versus the negative in each situation. Whereas pessimism is an attitude of doom and gloom towards the future and choosing to see and/or anticipate only undesirable outcomes, results, conditions and problems.
Choosing optimism isn’t just a philosophy, it’s a life strategy.
This book identifies emotional problems in high-performance sports, but most importantly it will focus its energy on the solutions. Now, before you get all skeptical, let me say, I get it, being negative is far easier than being positive. Why? Since birth, we’re all nurtured to be on the lookout for the bad. From relatives to teachers to the media, were bombarded by the negative. The doom and gloom subject matters seem to be the reoccurring themes. Ironically, no one was born with a negative mindset. The world put that toxic poison inside us.
Sure, bad things occasionally happen, but so do good things. Studies clearly show that obsessing about “what’s wrong” has very little solution-based value. I find it a bit wacky that most people seem content to vent about their problems, yet are afraid to be grateful for their blessings. It’s almost as if we’re superstitious. If I talk about the “good stuff,” someone will take it away.
In my experience, optimism is the quickest path to greater achievements.
It’s the booster of the rocket ship.
The beauty of sports is that we “get” to participate…we don’t “have” to participate. The advantages of optimism is a popular college research topic. Findings prove that optimistic athletes enjoy benefits that their negative counterparts miss out on. Examples include:
- Happiness and Gratefulness
- Physical and Mental Health
- Inner Peace and Calmness
- Confidence and Trust
- Popularity (Sunny dispositions attract others…)
- Complain and Worry Less
- Hopefulness and Openness
SOLUTION # 1: Say Something Positive
Start and end each day saying something good. Make a great effort to start each conversation with a positive observation. Make it a habit to flip negative thoughts, feelings, and remarks into positive ones. Optimism is contagious, so take the tidbits you learn from this book and empower others, inspire others and be the optimistic voice everyone respects.
