Optimism/Attitude
Optimism is more than a positive mental attitude. It is not constantly
saying positive things to yourself and hoping they
will come true. True optimism is a frame of reference
that governs how you look at the world. Optimism means
having expectations that, for the most part, things
will eventually turn out okay. Being optimistic means
that you really believe you will be able to accomplish
everything you want to do. Influence and optimism come
together when you can transfer your hope and courage
concerning the state of the world, the product, or
yourself into the minds of others so that they will
be inclined to follow you.
Influential optimism means you see the positive
in all situations. You look for ways to move forward. You don’t
focus on disappointment or negative feelings. People want to
spend time with individuals
who have a positive view on life. As an optimist, you see the world
as a series of exciting challenges. You inspire positive feelings
about everything you stand for. This mindset is contagious and
helps empower people to believe in themselves and in you. In other
words, as an optimist, you help others see failure or setback as
temporary. Success will happen. In contrast, a pessimist sees that
temporary setback as permanent failure. Optimists know that when
failure arises they have something in their life they need to change.
A pessimist calls it a weakness and never moves on. Optimism then
is the ability to bounce back sooner rather than later or not at
all.
Nobody wants to be around a moody, angry, or pessimistic person.
We all like and admire those who have a positive, optimistic outlook
on life. Optimism and a positive attitude develop magnetic influence
over others. If you are an optimist, you will attract people to
your cause and everyone will want to follow you. Countless studies
have shown that optimists do better in school, perform better in
their careers, and live longer than pessimists. Pessimists, on
the other hand, battle depression and give up more easily.
When you master optimism, you will have the ability
to recover from any setback or failure with an easygoing nature.
This is a
rare quality that will take time to develop. Not only does optimism
help you influence others but you also won’t fall into a
state of apathy or hopelessness. You have to learn to control your
pessimistic voice. We all have both an optimistic and a pessimistic
voice inside of us. Which one do you listen to?
An experiment was conducted measuring people’s capacity to
endure pain. The subjects put their bare feet into a bucket of
ice water. The experimenters found that the only factor that made
a difference in the subjects’ reactions was encouragement.
When you can encourage others to create an optimistic outlook of
the situation, you can also influence them. The study showed that
when someone was present to give them encouragement and support,
the sufferers were able to last longer and endure more pain.
Attitude
“Success in life is 85% attitude 15% aptitude.”
– Harvard
Study –
Attitude is a subset of optimism. Attitude is a reflection of
what is happening inside a person. Our attitude reveals to the
world what we expect in return. Our attitude is also completely
under our own control.
Most people don’t spend time thinking about
their attitudes, yet they let their attitudes control them throughout
the day. They
absorb the attitudes of others. Reaction is their primary mode
of operation. If we understand that most of our attitudes start
in neutral and then are changed, depending upon what we decide
to think and feel, then we are well on our way to controlling our
attitude.
Attitude is a habit. It arises from our expectations – what
we expect of ourselves and of others. Frustration is normally just
the result of an unmet expectation or a contradiction between reality
and attitude.
You can change your life and influence others with your attitude.
The expectations we create from our beliefs and the world around
us are rooted in our thoughts and experiences. When we master influence,
we know that our attitude and our expectations are critical in
getting others to take action. Whatever your attitude or expectation
is will be reflected back to you by the person you are attempting
to influence.
Attitude in
general can greatly affect our success in life. Harvard University
talked to executive recruiters to poll their opinions
of success. They found that 85% of success (including money, status,
and prestige) is based on attitude, while only 15% is contingent
upon ability. There was no correlation between grade level in college
and lifetime earnings.
In
the next Millionaire Diamond Mine, we will discuss
Empathy,
the 4th Point in Creating an Influencial Presence.
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