The Power of Optimism

Ever catch yourself spiraling into negative thinking? I want to talk this week about Optimism. And no, this isn’t about pretending everything’s fine with your head in the sand. It's not a childlike outlook of cheerfulness as everything crashes around you. It's about feeling what’s real and choosing a more helpful perspective.

It's not saying, "Everything will be fine." Instead, it says "Even if everything isn't fine, I can use the evidence in front of me to persist, pause, or pivot."

It's a skill, a mindset - not a fixed trait.

Not burying your head in the sand. Not cynicism. It's hope with your eyes wide open. Hope with a dash of reality. It's a belief in people and evidence. This brand of optimism means not immediately jumping to conclusions and making assumptions. It's choosing to focus on what you can control in a situation instead of allowing your thoughts and feelings to obsess over things you can't control.

So what can you control?

I read an analogy recently that I loved. Imagine it's Friday night. On a Friday night in my house, we often get take-out pizza. When you open that steaming hot box filled with deliciousness, you find a little plastic "table" in the center of your pizza. Now that simple little piece of plastic has a really important job to do. It's designed to protect your delicious dinner from the disaster of the box lid crushing it.

The pizza represents your Circle of Concern. All the things you worry about. All the excuses you hold onto. All the blame you throw out to others or inward to yourself. All of the problems of the world - politics, weather, other people's choices, etc, etc, etc.

The little plastic table? That represents your Circle of Control. It's relatively small but oh so powerful. This is where your decisions live. You decide what you focus on. You decide how to respond and how you invest your time and energy.

desiged by Candice on Canva; based on image from Maria Keckler

Most people spend their day in the Circle of Concern. They worry about things they can't control. They jump to conclusions, letting their thoughts spiral negatively out of control.

You want to operate from the Circle of Control. This is where you can objectively look at a situation and make an informed choice based on evidence as well as hope. This is where you make an informed decision and choose to persist, pause, or pivot.

Journal Prompts

• Where have my thoughts been spiraling lately?

• What part of this situation is within my control?

• What am I assuming will happen—and what evidence actually supports that?

• Where do I need to persist? Where might I need to pause or pivot?

• What has helped me move through hard times in the past?

• Who or what helps me return to hope when I’ve lost sight of it?

• What does “hope with my eyes wide open” look like for me this week?

Affirmations

• I choose to respond to reality, not assumptions.

• Even when things feel uncertain, I can return to what I know and what I can do.

• My thoughts are not facts. I give myself space to question and shift them.

• I am allowed to feel deeply and still move forward wisely.

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TheWeekly Draft

What is it? I have talked to some of you about how I set up my week every Sunday evening. During that time I write/reflect on how my previous week progressed — the things that went well, the things I wish I had accomplished — and I plan for my next week. I set my priorities and goals, I reflect on habits, I timeblock my calendar, etc.

So I would like to invite you all in to my planning space.

I will open my personal zoom room every Sunday evening at 7pm for whoever wants to join me. We will co-work on setting up our weeks and have an accountability checkin for whoever needs it. HERE is the link to join (hit: it’s my personal zoom link)

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ACTION NEEDED!

I'm moving over to my new website fully by mid-June. That means that I will need to shift all of your auto payments over to the new platform. I will be sending you all individual emails with the date you should do this and the link to follow.

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Office Hours:  Wednesday, June 18. This is for Basic Coaching Members as well as any Premier Coaching Members who would like to touch base between scheduled coaching appointments. HERE is the link to schedule a 30-minute slot

The Weekly Draft: happens every Sunday evening at 7pm at this link. Come prepared to reflect on this past week and plan for the coming week, including the idea of implementing your own Kitchen Timer hour. Join me HERE