***How To Turn Your Pessimism Into Hope And Optimism

One of the most astonishing recent psychological discoveries is that we have the potential to become more optimistic. You can turn yourself from a glass half-empty, pessimistic person into someone who can also see the glass half-full perspective. It is possible to widen your perspective, thereby affecting how you feel.

Your thoughts, including the critical or negative ones, are nothing more than a repetitive tape based on beliefs you have formed about yourself. It is possible, even probable, that some of the things you believe about yourself are an inaccurate reflection of who you are. Yet you may accept those beliefs as unquestionable truth. Consider the person who creates a fit body and yet still thinks themselves fat, the stunningly beautiful super-model who considers herself imperfect, or the successful person believing themselves to be an impostor. Our beliefs are not necessarily truth; we just act as if they were.

Some of those less than optimistic beliefs can include certain helpless and passive ideas suggesting that things will never be any better, your entire life is ruined, or you are just not good enough. Learning to see beyond the negative things you typically say to yourself in the midst of adversity can help broaden your perspective and allow you to see new possibilities.

Changing into a glass half-full, hopeful person will not happen on its own or occur ove
ight. Simply listening to a lecture or tape on the value of positive thinking will not create a beautiful mind filled with many inspiring, supportive thoughts. Change occurs with conscious determined effort. Much of the work is simple, although perhaps not easy. The following list offers some powerful suggestions to help flip your doom and gloom attitude into one of possibility and hope!

Acknowledge Your WorthnBy definition, self-esteem is the overall sense of how much you value yourself and how important you think you are. Self-esteem involves your thoughts and feelings about yourself and your ability to achieve in ways that are important to you. People with a strong and healthy self-esteem: nnn • accept responsibility for their actions
• are self-motivatedn • are willing to take risksn • are willing to risk failure
• are willing to succeedn • take pride in their accomplishmentsn • seek the stimulation of worthwhile goalsn • take command and control of their livesn • have integrityn

One idea for increasing a sense of personal worth is to spend as little as five minutes each day giving yourself a pep talk. Get out that jou
al or pad of paper. Look yourself in the eye in the mirror and let the accolades fly:

• I am good enough.
• I can have what I want.
• I have the love and inner strength to lead myself through this situation.
• Good things come to me.
• I deserve to feel good.
• I allow myself to feel joy in this moment.
• I allow myself to think positive thoughts.
• I have faith in who I am and who I am becoming.
• I am good enough today, where I am.
• I forgive others and I forgive myself. n

Positive affirmations may sound quite silly. In truth, speaking positively to your self is only a minor part of living a joyful life. Affirmations do not really lead to a marvellous life. However, if you find you cannot say nice things to yourself, or you cannot support yourself when times are tough, then this is one important piece of the puzzle to master.

Focus on a Beautiful Outcome
Instead of making excuses that allow you to avoid focusing on your dream, or taking action toward your dream, create compelling reasons why having what you want is important. How would your happiness and success benefit your and the world around you? As you allow yourself to dwell on a positive outcome to your dream, you see the potentials of what can and will happen. You begin to anticipate success. You feel better, happier, and more empowered. Observe how being more optimistic fans the flames of your motivation.

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Use words to create a belief in your self. Notice how what you think affects your mood and your ability to achieve success. For instance, imagine for a moment that you are a competitive athlete. You would not motivate yourself by saying, "I'm not going to be able to do this. I should be so much better. I hate myself for being such a loser." Instead, you would create an inner dialog that was supportive and loving. Try these phrases on for size:

• I can deal with this.
• I don't need to be perfect. I'm doing this because it brings me joy to do so.
• I choose to relax and find my center.
• I breathe and stay in touch with my dream and heart.
• I am safe in the world.
• Everything I need is already in my possession.

Let Go of Old TapesnBecome conscious of old mental tapes that have outlived their usefulness. Think about what else you could say that would be loving and supportive. You can change the automatic thoughts you have, but you can consciously make a choice to add new thoughts. You could hear yourself saying, "I can't handle this" and then you could choose to challenge that thought. You could say instead, "At this moment I certainly feel that the situation is hopeless, but I know it is not. I can handle my life.

Best Case ScenarionThe worst will not always occur. Recognize catastrophe thinking. Here is some wonderful advice I saw on a greeting card from the good people at Hallmark: "If I had to give up one sense, it would be my sense of impending doom." Focus on creative solutions and keep moving forward despite the presence of fear.

Be at Choice In Your LifenDrop the words "should" and "try" and use empowering statements such as:
• I choose to . . .
• I now have . . .
• I am able to . . .
• It is my wish and choice to . . .
• I am willing to . . .
• I am already . . .

By practicing these steps, you can regain your ability to believe in yourself, believe in your abilities, and believe in your dream. There are times when certain situations certainly look dark and impenetrable, but if you learn to take a wider perspective, you will also be able to see the glass half-full side of things.nn