How to Choose Optimism #6 Don't Believe It Was Better Before ('Carpe Diem')

Being optimistic means living in the present without constantly encumbering ourselves with the idea that it was better before or that happiness will come later. Said French philosopher Andre Comte-Sponville, “There is no point in hoping for what one doesn’t have without enjoying what one does have.” By not being fully in the moment we may miss satisfying experiences.

It is a philosophy of happiness. It’s in the here and now, in the carpe diem (‘seize the day’) of the ancients, that you should learn from your failures and successes, improve yourself, not pass up opportunity and, of course, never put things off. What you do today determines what will happen tomorrow. Your decisions and actions influence your tomorrow in some way. So, if you want to have more success, a better relationship, a healthier body, or anything else, then make the most of today and do the things that will help you get where you want to be…

…don’t believe it was better before

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

How to Choose Optimism #5 Put Things in Perspective

Why take the full force of everything that happens to us? Instead, take a step back and put an event into perspective by comparing it with others that we have experienced. That’s not distancing ourselves from reality – it’s actually giving its rightful place. To those who doubt this, I recommend listening to the stories of people who had cancer from early period and who were fighting and even finding new reasons to live and hope. I’ve been with students at hospital and most of them displayed incredible desire to improve their mindsets.

Joel Osteen, a motivational teacher, once said: “Nothing happens to you, it happens for you. See the positive in negative events.” When things happen “to” you, you feel helpless and victimized. However, if you look at things as happening “for” you, then you take some of your power back. This allows you to look at the lessons and blessings (a.k.a. silver linings) within anything you might experience. Give the right and positive perspective from your experience.

How important are your frustrations and upsets, really?

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

How to Be Innovative #2 Don't Think About Failure, Think About What Have You Learned

“Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity – not a threat”

Steve Jobs, 2010

Many of us are brought up believing that failure is a bad thing. Our early childhood experiences typically involve being laughed-at for getting things wrong. Although we have to learn the difference between right and wrong and what is ‘good’ and ‘bad’, we are often not taught how to learn from our mistakes.

The famous inventor Thomas Edison story tells of how he invented the light bulb. He tried more than 2,000 experiments before he got the electric bulb to work (although, I suspects that it was not exactly 2,000 experiments. It just mean lots of failed experiments). A reporter asked him how it felt to fail so many times, Edison responded, “I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2,000 step process.” At every stage, he learnt what worked and what did not. If he had given up at stage one, the world would be a darker place today!

The problem we have today is that we have a low tolerance for failure, especially in evangelism and business environment. Failure or the perception of failure is often treated with dismissal, although the reality is that although the expected results may not have been achieved, those involved learned a valuable lesson. A 1976 study carried out by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, on the reasons for major engineering failures, found insufficient knowledge to be their primary cause. The more information we have, the less likely we are to fail, so engineers today are more likely to get things right by learning from what didn’t work in the past.

This is true for all aspects of our lives, whether it is work, at home or during leisure. We need to learn from our mistakes rather than trying to forget them and move on. In every situation, it can be worthwhile jotting down or take a mental note on what has worked and what hasn’t. Commits it to memory because it can provide a useful reference when you face a similar situation or a new challenge. Don’t think about failure, instead think about unexpected outcome!

Practical Suggestions:

§  If something hasn’t worked, don’t focus on the failure, instead think about what did work and learn from it

§  Think about what hasn’t worked for you in the past and reflect on how you dealt with the situation and what you leaned. What this a positive or negative or growing experience? Did you come out of the situation a better person?

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

How to Be Innovative #1 Take A Break from Information Overload

The day-to-day pressures of life mean that we often do not have time to ponder new ideas. Since the invention of the Gutenberg Printing Press, we have been producing more books and information than an average human being could ever read in their lifetime. The beauty, and irony, of Gutenberg’s invention was the ability to produce a mass amount of books at extremely low cost. This resulted in the unfamiliar dilemma of having a wide choice of books to read, and the beginning of what is now called information overload.

Today we have computers, iPhones, iPads, Kindles and Podcasts that feed us with gigabytes of information at even lower cost. We are bombarded with advertising, entertainment, news, music, WhatsApp messages, phone calls… the list goes on. Unfortunately, much of the information we receive is of little value. We are increasingly being driven by technology – we have to answer that e-mails, constantly check our messages during dinner, even in toilet. In 2016, Malaysians spent 4 hours 38 minutes on PC/tablet, 3 hours 37 minutes on smartphone, and 2 hours 9 minutes on internet TV (such as YouTube) per day. In one week, on average Malaysians spent 1,519 minutes or 25 hours 32 minutes on mobile phone online! 56% is using for social media apps and 43% is for watching videos online*.

                                                   

Facebook and WhatsApp are the main sources of information overload for young people especially. They can be useful tools for sharing information, but when taken to the extreme, they can become a colossal waste of time. While the printing press helped make books easily available, the Internet has caused an exponential growth in information. With this information overload, how can we think?

To function effectively, the brain needs time and space to process the tsunami of stimulus it receives. The first step is to evaluate your day. How much time do you spend responding, interacting and reacting to technology – be it e-mail, smartphone, TV or online game? You may be surprised at how much technology has come to rule your life. It’s time to re-evaluate how you live, decide what is important to you and re-establish control over your life. Technology is good, but let you the one who control it, not the other way round. Giving yourself time and space to think is fundamental to becoming more innovative and creative.  

Practical Suggestions:

§Give yourself sometime to think. Take an hour off and sit in the park or take a long walk and do nothing – you will be surprised at the ideas that come to you.

§  Set aside a day or half a day a week to switch off (or in Aeroplane mode) all electronic communication. This will be hard at first but keep at it. Use the time to do something you enjoy. Something physical is better.

§  Take time to delete junk mails and pictures received from WhatsApp that is not important to you.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

*Source: https://lavaprotocols.com/2016/03/14/mobile-malaysia-usage-infographic/)

How to Choose Optimism #4 Take Responsibilty for Your Life (or Response Wisely)

Most of us don’t take our annoyances on family, friends or colleagues. We spare them. To compensate, we become mistrustful of the world. We construct a virtual world in which everything interpreted negatively, inflating fears about crime and murders, even when there is little (actually reported crime rates are dropping worldwide, check this fact). Over the past 20 years in opinion polls, unemployment is always rising even when it’s falling, and consumer purchasing power is always decreasing even when it’s increasing.

The exaggeration of risks and suffering is a collective phenomenon, and can affect us individually. Struggling to make ends meet? Start by not exaggerating the suffering. Consider also what’s going well, what you’ve achieved. Instead of complaining, look around you for people who have had similar problems and may be able to help you.

If something is wrong at home or work, it’s your responsibility (or you’re capable of responding differently). You are the principal solution. I’m trying to make you guilty, I want you to be responsible.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

How to Choose Optimism #3 Maintain Your Desire to Learn

Pessimists lack curiosity. They miss opportunities to discover something new, to meet someone new, to read new books. On the other hand, optimists are curious about almost everything. Curiosity is the cornerstone of knowledge. The desire to learn is a way of controlling our ego, the temptation to think, “I know it all.” Acquiring skills, including technical ones, broadens our horizon and makes us happier.

Progressing rewards us for our efforts, counterbalancing setbacks and frustrations. Make great discoveries or set yourself small challenges. The crucial thing is to remain alert.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

How to Choose Optimism #2 Don't Simply Count on Good Luck

After a setback, many people tell themselves: “I’m not lucky.” But there’s no such thing as luck. People who are thought to be lucky go out to meet what Niccolò Machiavelli, the philosopher called good fortune. They take initiatives and make contact with many people, increasing their chances of finding reliable friends, a job, even business/ministry opportunities. It is energy – not luck. It is willpower, the spirit of conquest, moving forward. It’s crucial to never lose your motivations.

Don’t believe luck is always with you. Let’s say you present a project. Everything is going wonderfully. But nothing comes of it. The explanation is simple: the person you were talking to is not interested but does not wish to upset you or waste his time discussing it. By contrast, many proposals that get a negative response end up having a positive outcome.

The basic principle: nothing is ever going as well as we think, but nothing is ever going as badly, either. Optimists know nothing can be taken for granted, that everything has to be earned. So work hard!

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)