Have you ever run into an optimist?
Most who do walk away upbeat, energized and optimistic – you feel better, just being in the presence of an optimist.
Now contrast that to pessimists.
Pessimists drag you down emotionally. They sap you of your energy, infect you with their pessimism and you feel worse, just being in the presence of a pessimist.
People are attracted to optimists and repelled by pessimists.
By a wide margin, the millionaires in my study made optimism a daily habit – 71% were grateful and optimistic about life.
Now, contrast that with the poor – 78% of the poor were pessimistic about life.
Why is a positive mental outlook so important to success?
It’s important because success doesn’t happen on its own. When you’re in business or climbing the corporate ladder, being an optimist is an enormous advantage. Optimists are able to attract apostles to their cause.
You need to surround yourself with like-minded optimists, who believe in your dream, your goals and your cause.
Optimists are like magnets, attracting other optimistic, success-minded people to them, making it possible for them to move their dreams and goals forward. Optimists have many brains at work helping them overcome obstacles and open doors, clearing the path and enabling them to succeed in life.
Pessimists, conversely, repulse people who could otherwise help them in life. As a result, they are often left to their own resources, unable to marshal support for their dreams, goals or initiatives. Pessimists are limited to one brain in helping them succeed in life -their own. But even worse, their pessimism turns people they come into contact with from apostles to adversaries. Pessimists alienate others. These alienated individuals then become an army of human obstacles, fighting them at every turn.
Achieving success is hard. A negative outlook makes it impossible.
Gratitude is the gateway to optimism. Envy is the gateway to pessimism.
So if you’re struggling with pessimism, start by expressing gratitude every day for things you have and things that go your way. This will shift your mindset from negative to positive. Optimists succeed in life, while pessimists fail.
Both mindsets are daily habits. Make optimism your daily habit and you will attract the people you need to attract – people who will help you realize your dreams and achieve your goals.
Absolutely!