Like the characters in the movie Silver Linings Playbook, it’s possible for leaders to change focus in life by maintaining an upbeat attitude.
In the movie, Bradley Cooper plays a man with bipolar disorder who takes on a personal motto, excelsior—Latin for “ever upward.” As he tells his therapist, “This is what I believe to be true: You have to do everything you can, and if you stay positive, you have a shot at a silver lining.”
This is probably not a surprise to anyone who already has the habit of looking on the bright side, but there is actually ample evidence to suggest that maintaining a positive outlook on life provides very real benefits. As leaders, however, it can be difficult to stay positive in this difficult economy. Nevertheless, our ability to succeed depends on our ability to cope with whatever life, and business, throws at us (click to tweet).
Here are 5 significant things to remember when assembling your silver linings playbook:
1) Optimists are not always positive thinkers. These are two very different breeds of animal and their motivation is what truly separates their thinking.
2) Positive thinkers are not necessarily happy or optimistic.
3) Optimists try to find ways around the misery, or choose to put a spin on things so they can anticipate the best outcome and be happy.
4) Positive thinkers, conversely, are blunt realists who look misery right in the eye and confront the most brutal facts of their day without losing hope.
5) Optimists leverage opportunities as a path toward happiness; positive thinkers leverage reality as a path toward hope.
Many leaders consider themselves optimists because they are always striving for greatness in their work. But in doing so, they set themselves up for failure because leadership requires the mental toughness to not lose hope while in the midst of adversity and overcoming obstacles. It is the hope that comes from faith, both in themselves and in something bigger, better, and bolder than themselves.
As a young agent, I worked on a child kidnapping case. I quickly learned that while the FBI would welcome opportunities or breaks in the case, we would (1) not wait for them, or (2) expect them. Instead, we sorted through the facts and analyzed each one to determine how or when the situation could get worse. Positive thinking is looking for how to achieve the best outcome in a very bad situation.
The FBI never gave up hope as we pursued the kidnapping case, and neither did the parents. Diligently pursuing leads in a large metropolitan area and canvassing neighborhoods by showing photos of the little boy, someone recognized him and provided a vague description to the sketch artist of the man who accompanied him. This might not seem like much, but the t-shirt the man was wearing was distinctive. It was the best lead we had—agents contacted every store in the city that sold the t-shirt and showed them the sketch.
We had several possible identifications, and each one was pursued. The little boy was found—only hours before being smuggled out of the country and sold to a prostitution ring in Asia.
Positive thinking is sifting through the rubbish to uncover whatever tidbit of good information is available (click to tweet). Sometimes it not much, but it’s always enough to help move forward. Positive thinkers make their luck when they have to, and more importantly, they never give up hope.
How would you differentiate between optimists and positive thinkers?
You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LaRaeQuy
Read my book ““Secrets of a Strong Mind,” available now on Amazon.
The post Silver Linings: A Leader’s Playbook for Positive Thinking appeared first on Empower the Leader in You.