Consciously Optimistic
A short one for a (another) short week in NZ.
I have been thinking about the optimism that we have all had to hold on to over the past period of challenging times.
I know both personally and first-hand from many interactions how devilishly challenging times have been.
When I talk with my team and when I speak to others both in our industry and in other industries, I am encouraged, inspired and amazed by the optimism and the resilience. Many people have hit walls and fallen down, then picked themselves up or reached out for some support, and got themselves moving again.
Despite everything, we have managed to maintain optimism overall. Every phone call is a future deal, every social media interaction is a future client, every green shoot is a future forest of business.
I have mentioned James Clear before, author of Atomic Habits. I am going to quote directly from one his recent newsletter dated February 2024, because I think what he does consciously might help us even more if we have been pushing on without really thinking about what we are doing.
“When I go into a situation, I try to keep a mindset of baseline optimism.
When starting the day: It’s going to be a good day.
When meeting someone new: I’m going to like them.
When trying something challenging: It’s going to work out.
Problems will inevitably arise and I’ll deal with them as the situation demands, but my preference is to assume I’m on a winning path until proven otherwise.”
So, I encourage you today to be consciously optimistic. I think that it will supercharge the existing optimism that anyone operating in this climate must already have.
There is plenty out there suggesting we are through the worst.
It’s going to be a good day!
You can check out the full James Clear newsletter here.
