Contrary to the airbrushed and edited curations of Instagram influencers, life and work can be messy. Best laid plans can be brought down in seconds when life throws a curveball your way.

Comparing your insides to other people’s outsides can lead to some profoundly unpleasant psychological discomforts. As well as FOMO (fear of missing out), these can also include dissatisfaction, frustration and perceptions of inability – all categorised as deficiencies of the self. They are all types of suffering that stem from a non-physical origin. The bad news is that they are also widely believed to be an inescapable aspect of being human.

While physical pain is often localised and frequently explainable through injury or disease, psychological discomfort is harder to define and describe. It includes a range of subjective experiences, which are all characterised by an awareness of negative changes in the self and functions accompanied by negative feelings.

Psychological discomfort appears ingrained within the human condition but changing our mindset to stress is one way of turning a negative experience into useful lessons. This can help us to build a sense of resilience and even wisdom for when life throws you the next lemon. 

I’ve previously written that we make memories from the good days, but we can also flip the experience of a bad day on its head and reflect on the learning that we’ve gained from it. You can read more about eustress, a positive perception which can help us to use stress as something that can be beneficial to us, in the Optimist Performance’s blog.

The Optimist View…

Finding the meaning or reason behind a stressful situation and gaining a motivation or lesson from it isn’t easy, but it does provide a pathway that can help you move forward and push past those feelings of discomfort.

An “attitude of gratitude” remains the mantra I live by and is still something I am cultivating. It will always be a work in progress… and I’m comfortable knowing that it’ll never be perfect.

If you feel like you sometimes need that critical friend to help you gain perspective and find your way, get in touch with us today and learn more about our Optimist Coaching.

The post How to be comfortable with feeling uncomfortable – By Ollie Phillips appeared first on Optimist Performance.

In the post last week, we talked about the feelings and emotions of our teams. This week we want you to focus on yourself. Take some time to do a bit of introspection and think about what you are grateful for this year. 

Being grateful is a habit you should develop and exercise every day. It is simple, it doesn’t take long, and it has enormous benefits.  

By focusing on all the good things in your life, you will create an overwhelming sense of positivity that directly influences your feelings, emotions, and behaviours. You will see immediate results and benefits from these actions, not only in your life but also in the lives of those around you. 

This is the power of a positive mindset!

Positive Mindset: What does it mean?

A Positive Mindset or Positive Thinking doesn’t mean you need to feel happy all the time. It means that you adopt a positive attitude about yourself and the world around you. You decide to focus on the good and try to find the positive in every situation. 

‘Reality’ and being ‘realistic’ is all about perspective, and we are in full control of that perspective and the horizons that we set ourselves.

It is our choice, how we approach and react to this, and what we deem as our own ‘reality’ is critical in determining the levels that we are prepared to reach.

A negative outlook on this often sees people adopt a victim mindset and struggle to move forward. Whilst a more positive approach will see us focusing on the bright side of life and us pushing our boundaries beyond any levels that we originally anticipated. 

Ultimately, It is up to you how you want to go through life. 

Some tips on how to change into a positive mindset

Changing your mindset is not a one day job, it is something you need to work on every day.

Here are some tips on how to start:

Cultivate good habits. Creating good habits will make you feel better about yourself. Examples of this could be exercising every day or trying to eat a healthier and more balanced diet. 

Take time for yourself. It is essential to arrange some time a day to focus on yourself, use this time for an activity you enjoy. We understand how difficult this is. Our advice is to schedule these free times on your agenda, to make sure you stick to them. 

Be present. Don’t spend too much time focusing on the past or the future, the only moment you can change is the present. 

Surround yourself with the right people. Feelings and emotions are contagious, so try to be around positive and happy people. You can also find a mentor, motivational speaker, or coach to guide you through this journey.  

Focus on the positive. You don’t have to avoid negative thoughts or situations, but try to maintain a positive attitude towards them the majority of the time. 

Be grateful every day. Before you go to sleep, take two minutes to think about all the things you are grateful for. 

Focus on the good things, even if they are small. Even the smallest things can have a big impact on your emotions. 

Practice selfless acts. It doesn’t have to be a big deed but doing good for others will make you feel better, and you can create a snowball effect from there. 

At Optimist Performance we feel gratitude for…

This year has been unusual and we have been living with uncertainty, but as optimists, we like to look at the positive of every situation. 

These are some positive outcomes from this year:

Spending time with our partners and children. We either have been working from home or not working at all. By staying at home, we got to spend a lot more time with our partners and children, and we became closer together. 

Create new habits. The extra free time allowed us to create some good habits during lockdowns. We started exercising every day, eating healthier, and reading more. 

Personal Development. We had time to focus on our personal goals. We learned new skills and challenged ourselves to do new things and start new projects. 

What about you? What do you feel gratitude for this year? We would love to hear about it in our comment section below. 

From Optimist Performance, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas. 

The post Let’s create the habit of gratitude – By Optimist Performance appeared first on Optimist Performance.