Increasing Optimism: 6 Things Optimists Do Differently

You must stop observing the lives and achievements of others, making hurtful comparisons and complaints about the things you don't possess in your life. You must start doing your best to achieve more progress and accomplishments.

You can overcome everyday stresses by choosing a positive thought or response in situations and events that you are constantly exposed to when it is an option.

Because the peace and happiness you experience in life simply result from the quality of your daily thoughts and responses, you must train your mind to focus on the positive aspects of various situations, including stressful ones. Optimism is not exclusive to anyone or an innate trait, but rather a choice you can adopt today and a skill that can be learned and refined.

Tips to increase optimism in life

Here are some simple tips that need to be done differently to increase optimism in life, based on observations drawn from real-life experiences:

1. Optimists make the most of their options

Most people are alienated from people who show signs of excessive optimism, which often happens due to confusing the concepts of optimism and perfectionism. An optimist is just a realistic, positive person who is far from being naive or living in denial or ignorance of the real circumstances of life.

The behavior of an optimist depends mainly on making the most of all available options, regardless of difficult circumstances. It is distinguished by its ability to consider all aspects and dimensions of situations and to realize and manage all possibilities accurately.

The perfectionist focuses on the absolute perfect aspects in all situations. At the same time, the pessimist does not notice any positive possibilities, and the optimist makes an effort to consider all possibilities to find the perfect option.

Assuming there is a lemon tree. Now, let's observe how the three characters act: The perfectionist will consume the most ripe fruit and expect it to be the tastiest. The pessimists will be satisfied with the lemon that is closest to them. The optimist will pick every fruit they can see and make lemonade.

2. Optimists respect themselves

Let us contemplate the behavior of young children who continue to amaze and inspire themselves daily. You see them running, singing, and dancing freely, without caring about the world or the opinions of others, and without caring about getting everyone's approval, as they realize that they are truly wonderful.

As they grow older and enter adulthood, they feel the pressures of society, the media, and their peers. They start to compare themselves with those around them, judging and assessing their appearance, lifestyle, profession, and relationships with others. When they become aware of the positive aspects that others possess, and they do not, they will become resentful and stop appreciating the blessings in their lives.

The optimist protects themselves from self-criticism in two main ways. The first is based on trusting their intuition when it comes to their daily activities, refraining from seeking the approval of others, and doing what is right for them. The second shows that the optimist does not assess themselves based on the illogical ideals of others but rather rejects these ideals and clings to the conviction that they are capable and eligible by their true nature as they mature, develop personally, and gain strength and wisdom over time.

3. The optimist separates happiness from achievements

Achieving optimism requires the individual’s satisfaction with their life, which in turn requires searching within oneself because happiness comes from within. If you search for happiness outside yourself by associating it with achieving something you impose on yourself, you will face two problems:

3.1. You might not be able to achieve success

Suppose you discover a problem in your life that must be solved, but you find yourself constantly unable to solve it. In that case, you will enter a vicious circle where you feel worse every time you fail to solve it until you get convinced of your inability to succeed and declare your ultimate failure.

3.2. You might succeed and wish for more success

If you are determined to fix something wrong in your life and you succeed at that, you will find another problem that requires solving as well. Let's say that you have lost some weight, but now you want to gain muscles, or that you have paid off your debts, but now you want to open a bank account and deposit a lot of money, and so on, in an endless cycle throughout life. By doing this, you won't achieve your goal because you'll continue to look for happiness outside of yourself, as you cannot find it within yourself.

Optimists separate achievements from happiness and allow themselves to feel happy every moment without imposing any conditions. The satisfaction that optimists possess does not mean that they are slackening from advancing in life, but rather that they set goals, work hard, help others, and make progress while enjoying the achievement journey without attaching their happiness to reaching the ultimate goal.

4. Optimists keep good company

Your psychological comfort is directly related to the company you surround yourself with. The miserable person loves the company of others, but you are dispensable with them. Most likely, you will not find happiness when spending a lot of time with negative people. So, you have to avoid them, surround yourself with positive and emotionally supportive friends, and do some activities that increase your happiness.

Optimism is an acquired and contagious habit that requires you to accompany people who spread positivity so that you can transfer your good mood to a friend or a stranger through some kind words or actions, such as praising your friend’s appearance or allowing someone to get a certain place in the parking lot. Doing simple, kind actions for the people in your life helps create a positive social environment around you to interact with.

In short, life is sweeter and shorter than wasting it with people who do not treat you well. Therefore, you have to surround yourself with people who lift your spirits in moments of frustration and then return the favor to them as soon as possible.

5. Optimists accept successes and frustrations equally

Being optimistic doesn't mean you won't have hard times. Actually, you will face harsh conditions, as life is not always rosy and joyful. Being realistic helps you to consider all aspects and dimensions of the situation without exaggerating it.

You have to accept that successes and failures are essential parts of life and that each of them requires the presence of the other. It is not logical to expect life always to be good. In short, you have to be prepared for failed experiments. This behavior makes you a rational person and helps you benefit from successes in enhancing your optimism.

6. Optimists use positive language and signals

Sometimes, the way you narrate and express situations has more impact on your mood than the situation itself. When an optimistic person succeeds at something, they may proclaim, "I expected this success to happen. My diligence in studying paid off.” However, the pessimist would say: "The odds were on my side. I did well on that test," without taking credit for their success.

When an optimistic person faces difficulties with a project they're working on, they're more likely to say: "It is either the instructions I'm following are not clear, or the project requires more effort than I expected, or maybe I'm just having a bad day." That optimist adopts a positive self-dialogue to keep the conflict away from “instructions,” defines it as “more effort,” and confirms that it is temporary “a bad day.” However, the pessimists will criticize themselves and consider the conflict internal, permanent, and aggravated so they cannot determine its main cause.

In Conclusion

You have to be optimistic by adopting a positive internal dialogue in times of success and failure to become more optimistic.

Body language is also essential. Your smile can positively affect your mood. When you're feeling down, your brain sends messages of sadness to your facial muscles, which in turn causes you to frown, reinforcing sadness in your brain. Smiling can help you reverse the internal interaction process and send a different message to the brain stating that you are happy. Accordingly, the brain will respond to it by gradually changing your mood.