What Would Your Life Look Like?

Last lesson, you began the module by setting an intention and reflecting on three good things. Optimism is not a set trait. We can change the brain and our personal set-point with practice. By becoming more mindful of our emotions, we can intentionally practice strengthening habits of gratitude, joy, and contentment. In this lesson, you’ll begin to strengthen these emotions by finding the positive, even in difficult situations.

It is simple to talk about practicing a positive outlook; emotionally, though, it is hard to do. One practice that has been found to be beneficial in cultivating more positivity is the visualization of desired outcomes. Mentally rehearsing positive outcomes does not deny the current state, instead it primes the brain to consider constructive alternatives.

Mental rehearsal can be a quick and practical as asking yourself questions like:

• What’s the best case scenario?
• How will it feel to resolve this successfully?
• What good can come from this situation?

Athletes use mental rehearsal all of the time to achieve peak performance. Olympic gold medalists spend hours before their event visualizing themselves going through their performance in as much detail as possible. Although they are literally sitting in a chair, they are practicing their activity by mentally going through the experience flawlessly.

Visualizing an activity trains a neural network. It’s like cutting a path through the woods so that you can run through it more quickly. With a positive outlook, you actively train yourself to think about the positive: what is working and what you appreciate in other people. In that way, you start, little by little, to be drawn to the positive with less effort. This doesn’t mean that you can’t see the negative, but you strengthen your ability to prevent the negative from obscuring your view of the positive.

Look on the Bright Side

Next time you experience a setback, take a step back and challenge yourself to find the upside of that situation or event. Evaluate whether there is a silver lining that you might be missing.

Reflect on what the invitation in that moment might be. In other words, what can you learn about yourself or the other people involved? What is their perspective? Where do you share a common purpose? Keep probing and self-reflecting until you’re able to spot more upsides than downsides, even if it is awkward at first. Here are several other small actions you can take to help develop the positive outlook:

• Recognize small acts of kindness, and return them. For example, if someone volunteers to take notes in a meeting even though it’s not their job, notice and appreciate them. Or, if a grocery store cashier smiles at you cheerfully while most cashiers don’t even make eye contact, acknowledge their actions. If you can, try to return them.
• Look for the positive side to seemingly negative situations. For example, if an unhappy customer causes you to lose a sale, the positive is getting valuable feedback to help you make future products even better.

Reflect on a time you experienced a setback. As you look back on this event, what were the unexpected benefits of this experience? Are you able to find some positive outcomes that have come from the setback? Share your thoughts below.

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