Faith Venture

How are you this morning, I innocently ask a guy in the locker room at the gym.

“My back hurts. The doctor screwed up my feet; now I have trouble walking. They can’t put in a lap lane in the swimming pool during that senior water work out class. The new shower heads are worse than the last ones.”

Gee, thanks for uplifting my day…

I had just read an article written by the guy who developed Nozbe, the productivity application that I use. The article was about optimism.

Michael Sliwinski has to be the most optimistic person I know. Seven or eight years ago I wrote about Getting Things Done, David Allen’s productivity method. Sliwinski had written an application and was now CEO of a small company selling the app. He wrote to me. Said he had a better productivity app.

I bought it a few months later. Been using it ever since.

He writes, “Optimism and the courage it fosters are the secret weapons of any entrepreneur. The ability to see the bright side in difficult situations and even the most miserable failures can provide important lessons for the future, and this differentiates successful people from others. Not huge successes, like piles of gold and fame, but also small victories that help develop what you’ve started without giving up.”

Continuing, he writes, “With a positive attitude it’s easier to get out of bed in the morning, it takes less effort to accept a few extra hours of work or unforeseen problems and it’s easier to plan future objectives and undertakings.”

I agree with his observation that a positive attitude comes from inside. It is our attitude. We choose how we’re going to approach life.

Sliwinski concludes with a list of some small things that can help you become an optimist:

• gratitude ritual – every morning I express thanks for three things or events which made me feel happy – it works;
• sport, rest and a good diet – in a healthy body there’s a healthy mind – what’s else is there to say 🙂
• waking early without hitting snooze and delaying the alarm – this simple habit connected with the first thing you do every morning will give each subsequent day the proper, energetic direction;
• vision of the future – every once in a while spend some time painting a glorious vision of the future – dreams are the first step of every plan or venture;
• passion – find your passion – it will give you wings, strength and patience;
• surround yourself with positive people – keep pessimists, moaners and fault-finders at a distance or try to infect them with your optimism 🙂

Couldn’t have said it better–so I just copied and passed along. Have a beautiful and optimistic day.