“Just as the tiny acorn contains within it a mighty oak tree, you have within you greatness beyond your wildest imagination.”
J.Sewell Perkins
OPTIMISM – AN IDEA OR A REALITY?
As an avid Twitter-er who tweets under the name @TheSCICoach each day, I choose a WORD OF THE DAY. Actually, being limited by Twitter to 140 total characters, I call it TODAY’S WORD (that saves me three characters).
The chosen word of the day is the basis for all the tweets of the day and all the tweets relate to the chosen word. Many followers tell me the quotes are each rather like a mini coaching session and since I’m a Life, Business Development and Marketing Strategies Coach, mini coaching sessions are right up my alley.
The point of this post is that of all the hundreds of tweets I’ve tweeted, one word brought the greatest reaction. That word is OPTIMISM. Other words used for these mini coaching sessions have been: ability, happiness, risk, determination, obstacles, knowledge, courage, persistence, life and many others. Of all those words OPTIMISM received an overwhelming response.
That’s significant because most people are not optimistic. As a coach I speak with people who live in a world of “It’s not working.” Whatever it is…it’s not working for them. The fact is that things don’t just work. We create things working or not working by the way we think about them.
If you think about all the complainers you know, most of them feel they are as straws in the wind. They seriously believe they are powerless in how their lives turn out. Perhaps complaining is easier for them to handle than the responsibility of living an abundant life.
Many show up in my office for their first appointment telling me that they are trapped in a dark closet (or some other dark place) and can’t get out. The first thing I want to know is if they know who holds the key? It no longer surprises me to hear these desperate people say, “It’s not locked.” According to them, the reason they can’t open the door is because they are trapped there…trapped there in a confining, dark space with an unlocked door and according to them, they can’t get out.
What that means is too much to go into here but if you’re wondering how I deal with that, I open the door and tell them to come out. Once they are out, I lock the door from the outside and keep the key.
Obviously, the client did not bring the closet with him; the closet is a metaphor for feeling trapped. I not only let these people out of the closet but give them light to keep with them at all times. The source of the light I give depends entirely on their personal beliefs and what I know they can handle in the moment.
So, the question is why is OPTIMISM so fascinating…so interesting to so many people? It’s because they long to be optimistic, to be hopeful but sometimes one becomes so entrenched in the minutia of life that it’s difficult to see above the trench.
As I work with these people and as they begin to become more trusting, I put them through something we developed at Success Coaches Institute called the MindRemodel. It’s a trademarked procedure for cutting through all the misinformation and false beliefs that may go back as far as early childhood (it can actually be prenatal). Its official name is “Original Faulty Programming” and while it is a powerful and all consuming force, it can be overcome.
Everyone likes the idea of being optimistic. It’s a hopeful word that by its very nature implies happiness, success and all-in-all a great life. The question is – is optimism an idea or a reality?
Which is it for you…or do you know?
If you tell me it’s a nice idea and seems to work for some but would never work for you because you know it’s not possible to change your life simply by changing your thoughts about it…you are absolutely correct. If, however, you tell me optimism is a reality and by expecting the best life has to offer, you are actually attracting it to you, you’re correct.
What you think about things does become your reality. Your thoughts can create a magnificent life for you or keep you broke and desperately searching for the rest of your life.
If you’ve never read As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, I recommend you do so ASAP. To take away any excuses you may have about not knowing where tot get a copy, I just happen to have a copy for you. If you’ll go to SuccessCoachesInstitute you will be able to download a free copy. It’s my gift to you.
Be well, be happy and make today… and every day… absolutely magnificent,
