​Being an optimist can mean many things. Bert Jacobs in the book “Life is Good” describes optimism as, “A powerful and pragmatic strategy for accomplishing goals and living a meaningful life.” Optimism is broad in the sense that it means to be positive, cheerful, strong-willed, believable, and open-minded. Being an optimist means you are experiencing the world around you with open arms and an eye towards growth and progress. Pessimism is corrosive, realism lacks creativity, and optimism is boundless. Below I list the 2nd and 3rd superpowers to be an optimist:
 
Superpower #4 Humor:
Humor is most potent and effective when morale is low. A funny joke, line, phrase, or face can raise spirits. It can break tension, reset the table, and refocus people on opportunities that are ahead. It is easy to form trust and bond through laughter.
Humor leads to more unity and productivity in the workplace. Laughter relaxes us, enables us to think more clearly as well as communicate and solve problems more effectively. Ron Burgandy in the movie Anchorman once said, “For just one night, let’s not be co-workers, let’s be co-people.” Laugh, smile, jump up and down.
Teams that laugh together build greater trust and unity, and teams with greater trust and unity perform better. So, laugh at work together, your job will be even more enjoyable, and productivity will increase.
 
Superpower #5 Gratitude:
It’s nice to stop and reflect on the positives in life. Taking stock of the many people, experience, and things that are good, right, and working well in our lives has an uncanny way of attracting more good. What we focus on grows. Focusing on simple pleasures – on the good we are experiencing here, now, today – can do wonders.
If we don’t do this, we can spend our time defining happiness in terms of “Someday.” Saying things like, “I’ll be happy and grateful when (fill in the blank)” or, “Someday I am going to take the kids to pick pumpkins.” As the saying goes, someday is not a day of the week.
It’s easy to look at the news and think the world is getting worse day by day. There are so many trauma centers across the country, and not one, zero, joy centers. By elevating our awareness of what’s right with the world, instead of focusing on what’s wrong, we come to realize that the keys to happiness are all around us. Being gracious for what we have and not focusing on what frustrates you.
Live life with a “get to” mindset rather than a “have to.” I “get to” go to work today, I “get to” pick my kids up from school, I “get to” cook dinner tonight and fold the laundry. This is a consistent reminder to be grateful. Some people may feel burdened by daily tasks and commitments “have tos.” it’s possible to change your mental mind set and turn them into “get tos.” Once again, the choice is ours.
Grateful people are happier, more open and sociable, less depressed and neurotic, and express higher levels of satisfaction with their lives and relationships. Grateful people have higher levels of personal growth and self-acceptance, and they have stronger coping skills for the challenges and setbacks they experience. They are more willing to seek out help from others and demonstrate the ability to interpret challenging events in ways that help them grow.
Thanksgiving should be celebrated every day. Young and old, everyone gets it: we gather to give thanks. There is nothing confusing about it, or gifts or excessive hype that can weigh it down. Everyone comes together to give thanks. After times of tragedy which there is so much of, it is okay to mourn what we've lost, but we can also cherish what we still have.

​Being an optimist can mean many things. Bert Jacobs in the book “Life is Good” describes optimism as, “A powerful and pragmatic strategy for accomplishing goals and living a meaningful life.” Optimism is broad in the sense that it means to be positive, cheerful, strong-willed, believable, and open-minded. Being an optimist means you are experiencing the world around you with open arms and an eye towards growth and progress. Pessimism is corrosive, realism lacks creativity, and optimism is boundless. Below I list the 2nd and 3rd superpowers to be an optimist:
 
Superpower #2 Courage: The first thing you need to decide starting at the beginning of the day is if you are going to believe in yourself. You don’t think you can do a lot of things until you are faced with choices. What are my choices today, smile or frown? Why would you choose to frown and not smile? Is smiling easy? Hardly. Courageous? For sure.
Courageous people have an extra reservoir of optimism within them. When things are crazy, and a tough day only seems to get tougher, courageous people have the ability to dig down and find a little positivity.
Every day, we can choose to define our day with Discouraging or Encouraging frames. Are we building people up or tearing them down? Are we contributing positively or are we a negative influence? It takes more effort to be encouraging, which is also why it is harder. How do you want to reflect on your day? The courageous thing is to always try because you either succeed or you learn. Both scenarios you win. If you don’t try you cant learn, and if you don’t learn, you can grow.
Sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is admitting your licked for the day and it got the best of you – only for the day. Because tomorrow is a new day, and you need to believe it will be better.
Lastly, making the courageous choices isn’t always the easy choice, however it opens doors for new opportunity. There will be moments of self-doubt, skeptics in our path, and external forces inviting us to focus on what is wrong with the world. But we need to be courageous and open the doors of opportunity.
 
Superpower #3 Simplicity: Make life and work simple. Not to be confused with a work – life balance. Which there is no such thing as work – life balance because what you are saying is your work and life are working against each other, when really your work should just be a subcategory of your life. However, I digress. Making complex things simple is the highest form of sophistication. Why work harder, and not smarter?
When we are “too busy” we don’t do anything well. Our relationships suffer, our performance at work suffers, and we don’t enjoy our lives. Yet, being “Crazy Busy” is a badge of honor for some people. The adrenaline rush of multi-tasking and trying to speed through a million things at once can reinforce an illusion that we are in high demand and moving towards something grand. When really multi-tasking to me just seems like another phrase for not doing anything well. When you are multi-tasking it means part of your attention is in one spot, and in another, and another. If you focus all your attention on one thing, the finished product should be completed faster and in higher quality.
How can we make things simple then? Well by being selective in what we focus on. If your focus is to do laundry right when you get home, then do it right when you get home. Don’t first take the garbage out, then change, then exercise, etc.
Unplug. Yes, the 23-year-old millennial is telling you to unplug from your phones, and social media, and email, and games, etc. There is one simple question to ask yourself, what do you give it and what does it give back to you? Is it worth it? Do you get some type of intrinsic value by using it? I'm not saying to completely stop using it, I still use it. However, I have cut completely down on it by setting time limits on it and deleting different applications. You have to figure out what feeds your good wolf.
Each of us have a “Good Wolf” and a “Bad Wolf” Fighting inside of us. The question is, “Which wolf will win?” Well, the wolf you feed. You feed your good wolf by living life with good intention and focusing on the important things. You feed your bad wolf by focusing on extraneous stuff and external distractions. Feed your good wolf.

Optimism Superpowers: 1 of 10

Being an optimist can mean many things. Bert Jacobs in the book “Life is Good” describes optimism as, “A powerful and pragmatic strategy for accomplishing goals and living a meaningful life.” Optimism is broad in the sense that it means to be positive, cheerful, strong-willed, believable, and open-minded. Being an optimist means you are experiencing the world around you with open arms and an eye towards growth and progress. Pessimism is corrosive, realism lacks creativity, and optimism is boundless. Below I list the first superpower to be an optimist:
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Superpower #1: Openness
              Kids are the worlds strongest optimists. Always questioning and looking for answers. Instead of steering a conversation, activity, or lesson with a child, let them tell you what they think. Do not shut down an idea with a phrase like “that’s not possible”, “We can’t do that”, “No.” Ask “Why?” about their ideas and perceptions. The more we ask why to children, the more they can bring out the kid in us.
              “Yes, and…” is a common phrase comedians use in improv to build off of the ideas of others. “Yes, and…” provides endless opportunities and an open door to new ideas. There is plenty of time later to be analytical, and sift through discussion, however, if we don’t let the ideas flow, we may never know the potential ideas we have missed.
              Try to change up your routine and your surroundings. How can we expect to have new ideas, grow, progress, etc. if we are stagnant in the same place, doing the same activities, and never changing up our lives? Try a new activity, watch a movie from a different genre, try a new restaurant, get yourself out there to experiencing different things. Be open!

Most of our coping mechanisms are starting to develop in the childhood period. So, as a parent, you can help your child manage his emotions. You can help him recognize the emotions he or she feels and how to control them. You can help him learn how to understand the emotions he is experiencing. Below are some tips to help your child manage their emotions!
 

1. Lead by Example: Children often mirror their parents. They “want to be like mom or dad!” Children mimic behavior, expressions, and attitudes. Pay attention to your emotions and how you are dealing with stressful situations. Parents are the two closest people to a child, and if you can manage your emotions, your child is too.
2. Identify Coping Strategies: You need to let your child know that they will go through good and bad times. There will be moments full of emotions that will have a lasting impact on them and their behavior. Some coping strategies can be listening to music, drawing, going for a walk, and so on.
3. Talk about emotions: identify things that trigger you and notice if you are truly feeling that way or that there is something else that is bothering you. Are you upset, or are you just tired from a long day, or hungry, or stressed?
4. Practice mindfulness: When you are present in the moment, you are less likely to dwell on the past or worry about the future. Practicing mindfulness means focusing on nothing but what the person in front of you is saying, the path in front of you, your surroundings, the music you are listening to, your breath, etc. Being actively part of the present moment can limit the amount of time you spend building up past events into emotional issues or creating problems out of concerns for the future that have not yet occurred. It gives you the freedom

to simply be here now rather than getting caught up in things you cannot change or control.
 
When you have the ability to cope with your emotions and understand why you feel a certain way, you can learn a lot more about yourself. Identifying things that bother you, excite you, etc. can help you understand your responses in the future.