Optimism, Resilience and Leadership – 3 Qualities to Help Lead You to Greatness

“Remember, a person who wins success may have been eliminated many times before. He wins because he refuses to give up.” – Kemmons Wilson (1913-2003), American founder of Holiday Inn hotels

Optimism is the ability to see the positive side of events or situations. Optimistic people generally hold the belief that good ultimately outweighs evil in the world. They look for solutions instead of giving in to the problem. The unrealistic optimism of the Pollyanna strain will ignore signs of impending trouble with idealistic beliefs such as: smokers who believe on some level that their bodies are resistant to cancer; or buyers who accumulate large debts by spending beyond their means; or ignore the signs that it would be wise to start a career search when a downsizing is taking place in your current occupational field.

Optimism is what goes into your vision of a future based on your opinion. You will need optimism to see beyond what is and create a vision out of what seems unlikely. There are big changes happening NOW! If you’re an unrealistic optimist who thinks life and careers are going to be the way they were before the economic downturn, that’s not going to happen! Nothing stays the same. Important changes are calls for attention to listen from the inside and achieve the desired results.

Resilience is the power or ability to bounce back quickly from illness, depression, adversity, or the like. Resilience has elasticity, buoyancy. Studies show that resilient people are healthier, do better at work and school, are less likely to suffer from depression, win more in sports, and are optimistic. The elasticity of resilience is powerful. At first I was thinking about the elasticity of a rubber band. So I thought no because a rubber band is restricted to its circumference. I see resilience reaching beyond the comfort zone of a known circumference into new possibilities. To go beyond is to transcend. It requires resilience, because it is a journey into the unknown where doubt and fear can attack you.

Leadership is inherent in everyone because it is the call to be true to oneself through self-awareness. By developing self-awareness, you will recognize the leader you are as a teacher, inspiration, mover and shaker, activist, making the difference you want to see happen, and so much more. The status quo has been shaken by calling for new leadership. Trying to recover what was is useless. You are the new creative leader, resourceful and full of possibilities.

Leadership, resilience, and optimism are important characteristics needed to transcend to futuristic levels that are personally, professionally, and globally rewarding.

Tips and questions to develop resilience, optimism and leadership

* Be curious. When you are curious you ask questions. Questions lead to resources, which lead to more questions, which lead to solutions, surprises, challenges, rewards, relationships, and complete games. Remember when you were little and you kept asking, “Why?” and again. When did you stop being curious about something beyond your circle of perspectives?

* Check your underlying beliefs regarding who you think you are. Surprisingly, most people have scars from their childhood that manipulate their adult life keeping them stuck. Scars are ribbons that say something like, “I’m not good enough.” “I’m not smart enough.” “I can’t because…” “I’m not old enough or I’m too old.” You get the idea. These scars are plugs. They are plugging your essence as a leader. You are smarter than you think.

* Wherever you are there you are. At any time you can choose who you want to be. Are you someone who wants to be part of the solution or someone who is a supporter with no say in the matter? Do you give in to the negativity sweeping the media? See what is working. Look at your strengths and values ​​as resources to build your leadership.

* Recall a time when you faced adversity that you overcame. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been challenged by some kind of misfortune. I affirm that resilience, optimism and leadership were present in overcoming the situation or event. Where are you now? And how can you use them today to be the success you are meant to be?

* If you are undecided about what you want, write what you don’t want. Examine what you don’t want, and from there ask yourself, “If you don’t want what you wrote, what do you want?” After you’ve done some soul searching, write a vision statement that inspires you enough to take action.

* Play a bigger game and be the winner you’re meant to be. After all: Everything is possible!

“If you’ve built castles in the air, your work doesn’t have to be lost; that’s where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” – Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American writer and philosopher