Positivity is the new buzz word in this century. Optimism is said to be the most important quality you can develop for your professional and personal success and happiness. Optimist people seem to be more effective in almost all areas of their life.
But what does it mean to be an optimist? Does it simply mean to look at the glass half-full? That’s easier said than done. There are 3 steps that might help you develop a positive attitude in life. Let’s learn about them.
Attitude #1 Look for Good in Every Situation
Rajiv Bhatia was a model in Mumbai in the early 1990s. He got a modelling assignment in Bangalore and was supposed to catch a flight at 6 o’clock. At 5:10 AM, he got a call from his agency asking him where he was. Very innocently, he replied he was at his home. The person at the other end started yelling all the cuss words he know, and called Rajiv unprofessional.
The poor guy had mistakenly understood that the flight was at six in the evening.
This news brought Rajiv to tears. He was shattered. He pleaded them to wait for him but it was too late.
His mother tried to console him by saying “Don’t worry. God will fix everything.”
Later in the day, he visited Nataraj Studio where out of the blue he met a make-up man who asked him, “Hero banna hai?”.
This led to a meeting with the producer who instantly signed him for 3 films. He gave a cheque of Rs 50,000 for the first film, Rs 1 Lakh for the second and 1.5 Lakh for the third.
Coincidentally, the time when the producer gave him the cheque was 6 o’clock in the evening.
Rajiv Bhatia is better known as Akshay Kumar.
If Akshay had taken the flight that morning, he would have been a retired model today. Instead, he’s one of the biggest names in the Bollywood Industry!
Instead of lamenting the entire day over his missed flight, Akshay decided to look for other opportunities that led him to Nataraj Studio. Akshay believes that his mother’s words came out to be true in the end that whatever happens, happens for the best. But one has to keep the hope alive and not feel dejected or depressed.
Looking for good in every situation tunes your mind to seek positive out from every situation. It prepares you to find unknown opportunities.Therefore, the first attitude you must develop is to see the glass as half full.
Attitude #2 Seek Valuable Lesson in Every Setback or Difficulty
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was an unheard name in the late 90s and early 2000s. This budding cricketer from Ranchi (with unusually long but stylish hairs) was making every possible effort to get into the Indian cricket team. He played in different domestic tournaments and was known for his aggressive batting style (especially the long sixes he hit). Everyone had high hopes about Dhoni getting selected.
But when the Indian team was announced in 2003, Dhoni’s name was nowhere to be seen.
Most people would have felt dejected or helpless. Some would have even thought of quitting cricket but Dhoni threw a ‘samosa party‘ to his friends to commemorate his rejection.
He felt the need to remember the day that he missed out on the opportunity. Because of this rejection, he knew with distinct clarity that his current performance wasn’t enough to break into the Indian cricket team. It was a message for him to work and focus even harder on his game.
And the rest is history.
People like Dhoni are pretty rare in this world who take every defeat with a sense of challenge and look for the positives. They believe that difficulties come not to obstruct but to instruct.
No matter what goes wrong in life, they always look for the positives and learning from it.
And surprisingly, they always seem to find it.
Thus, no matter what difficulty comes at you, have an attitude like MS Dhoni and they’ll fly away like a helicopter.
Attitude #3 Focus on the Solution. Not on the Problem!
Ricky Pointing is one of the biggest names not just in Australian cricket but also in International cricket. Having been part of 3 World Cup winning teams (and captain in 2 of them), he also led Australia to an ICC Champions Trophy victory twice in a row.
Besides his excellent leadership skills, he has over 10,000 runs in both Test and One-Day cricket. He stands behind Sachin Tendulkar in the total number of centuries across all format. But what separates Ricky Pointing from others is his proficiency in hitting boundaries at will.
Once in an interview, he was asked how he could stroke the balls between the fielders so effortlessly. He gave a very interesting reply to this question.
He said that when he is on strike, he does not see the fielders surrounding him, but only sees the gap between them. Thus, in his mind, there are clear imprints of where the gaps are and he automatically places the ball there.
This simple cricket analogy has a very deep meaning. In life, there are problems everywhere like the fielders on the cricket field. These problems want to stop you from moving ahead in life.
What you need to realize is that there are solutions also present in the same field. If you focus your mind towards the solutions, it becomes easier to score runs.
If you keep focusing your mind towards the fielder, you are likely to hit the ball directly towards him and you might get out. Every thought you plant in your mind is like a seed. The more time it spends there, the larger it grows.
Thus, the third attitude is to think about the solution, so that you are more likely to find it than if you were focusing on the problem!
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