Optimism, Trust, and Clarity

Optimism, trust, and clarity are attributes that we should all possess. They each play a part in ensuring we are taking the best actions and living out our lives with meaning.

Simply put, we cannot be our best without all three of these attributes contributing to how we function in a given day. Over the span of our lives, this adds up to a lot of days to do better and be better than we would otherwise be. Here are some insights on each of these attributes.

Optimism

There are a growing number of scientific studies which suggest optimistic people are likely to live longer and experience the benefits of better physical and mental health than their counterparts-the pessimistic people. It appears that optimism leads to better health, as noted by researchers on the topic.

One study, which was conducted by world renowned University of Rochester Medical Center found this:

“After reviewing the results of over eighty studies to look for common findings they found optimism had a remarkable impact on physical health. The study examined overall longevity, survival from a disease, heart health, immunity, cancer outcomes, pregnancy outcomes, pain tolerance, and other health topics. It seemed that those who had a more optimistic outlook did better and had better results than those who were pessimistic.”

The research further went on to state that having a positive attitude can boost your physical health, no matter what might be ailing you. The benefits of optimism also appear to be consistent, regardless of demographic factors such as income level or overall health status. What this indicates from a wellness perspective is that with the right level of optimism we can set ourselves up for more satisfying personal efforts, results, and interactions with people.

It is hard not to be drawn to this possibility for our lives. So, ask yourself these questions:

• How would you rate your level of optimism in your life?
• What could be better?
• Where do you do well?

We all have areas of our lives where we can improve. This is part of being a human being and there is no shame in this. When it comes to optimism, you can take these steps to improve its presence in your life.

1. Be aware of your self-talk. Positive self-talk is one of the best ways to gain a healthier perspective even when you may be discussing something negative. For example, adults can talk about their day at work by exchanging simple thoughts about what they liked, what made them feel bad, and then discuss how they are going to make the most of their next day. This can also be done with children regarding school. The result is a powerful opportunity to cultivate positive thinking.
2. Having empathy for others offers a way to be more optimistic. We must realize that optimism is not tied to only great things happening in our lives. It gives us the mindset that life events create opportunities to connect us with others in powerful and positive ways.
3. Effort, over results, can lead to heightened optimism, especially in a developing mind. Positive thinkers tend to focus on process over results and are all the better for it. They appreciate the journey much more and know how to handle tough situations with more dignity. It also often results in greater victories. Wouldn’t this be wonderful to bring to your community?
4. Reflection on happier moments can help you realign yourself with optimism. We all have those moments where we accomplished something, and it felt good. Actually, it felt great! We can use these moments to stay connected to the positive and energizing thoughts that came with them.

The most wonderful results in your life seldom, if ever, come from a place of pessimism. Optimism is the emotional home for the best things in life.

Talal I. El-Assaad

With optimism in tow, you can turn to the necessity for trust in your life.

Trust

Scottish author George MacDonald penned, “To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.” Do you place this much value in being trusted? It is a worthy life pursuit, as much as it is necessary. Without trust, you cannot build any solid foundations on which to grow into your best self. It matters greatly!

Trust matters in the workplace, as noted in this research published in Harvard Business Review.

“Employees in high-trust organizations are more productive, have more energy at work, collaborate better with their colleagues, and stay with their employers longer than people working at low-trust companies. They also suffer less chronic stress and are happier with their lives, and these factors fuel stronger performance.”

Nobody wants to work for a company that does not trust them. And should you one day start your own business, your employees will need to be able to trust you. It’s an important lesson to learn. Trust goes both ways.

Another important area where trust is essential is in your personal relationships. If trust isn’t there, the chances of growth and connectivity are greatly reduced, if not eliminated.

Trust can be summed up by answering these two questions:

1. Who can I openly share ideas or information with and know that they will act appropriately with what has been given to them?
2. Who are the people who can share information, ideas, and tasks with me who know I will get them done?

We want to have people who are the answer to the first question listed and we want to be others’ answer to the second question.

Earning trust in both a professional and personal capacity takes effort. And blindly trusting is not a solution. Trust is serious in nature, and, strangely, can lead to some of the greatest moments of joy life has to offer. One professional example would be contributing to an important project at work and having your efforts be an intricate part of a project’s success. A personal example is to hold onto a secret for a friend that helps build stronger bonds and camaraderie because of it.

Here are some general tips provided by an article on trust building found in Positive Psychology. We can all benefit from evaluating each of these steps and seeing where we can work toward becoming a more trustworthy individual.

• Be true to your word. Honor commitments and only make promises you can and will keep.
• Communicate effectively and be clear about commitments made.
• Recognize that trust is earned and take continual gradual steps to build it in your relationships. Do not make decisions in haste. Use the time needed to evaluate important decisions.
• Demonstrate consistency, as it is easier for a consistent person to earn trust.
• Participate in decisions openly, being willing to offer valuable feedback delivered with positive insights.
• Always practice honesty, knowing that not doing so-even in seemingly unimportant situations-sets the tone for if you can be trusted or not.
• Be authentically kind to build up relationships.
• Express your feelings honestly and use emotional intelligence while doing so. (Emotional intelligence is the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one’s goal(s)).
• Recognize others and do not self-promote your own agenda.
• Do what you believe is right. Maintaining your own moral compass and values even in difficult situations is important to being trustworthy.

And last, but not least, is to admit when you make a mistake. This is particularly challenging, but especially important. We can all benefit from reminders of our humanness and realizing that can lead to mistakes being made at times.

With the benefits of trust and optimism, we can experience more easily.

Clarity

The Oxford Dictionary’s first two definitions for the word clarity are:

1. The quality of being coherent and intelligible — “for the sake of clarity, each of these strategies is dealt with separately”
2. The quality of being certain or definite — “it was clarity of purpose that he needed.”

Where clarity exists, there is no room for muddied waters. This makes it intrinsically important to all our lives: how we work, how we play, how we participate.

When we are clear on what we desire and expect, we are able to define a pathway to take us there with fewer hassles and distractions.

Talal I. El-Assaad

The benefits of clarity are immense. Take this example to demonstrate why:

Taryn (which literally means unclear) has mentioned the importance of doing well on an academic exam. However, “well” has not been defined? It could be anything from a perfect score to just passing, depending on the situation Taryn is in. With some clarity, we could learn that the goal is to receive at least a B mark to keep an academic scholarship.

Do you see why we need to have clarity in what we say? Without it, others do not understand our needs, nor we theirs.

It should be mentioned that clarity is not so rigid that there is no room for flexibility and adjustment when required. It really boils down to first being clear on the end goals we set for ourselves, and second, the specific steps and processes we take to achieve them.

Clarity is also essential in every area of life because we must know what we want in order to achieve it. If you are on an airplane heading from London to New York and are off your charted course by even one degree you would end up a long way away, probably in Canada or a state well south of New York. It would take time and extra fuel to correct your course. A little bit of clarity of purpose and direction would have saved you quite a bit of time and money in the end.

When our direction is clear and the information, we built our direction on is trusted, we are much more confident of our course as we trust the information source. This frees up our brain’s space to focus on what we need to do with less stress.

With understanding the importance of optimism, trustworthiness, and clarity, we can equip ourselves for great things. One of the greatest of these things is healthy and vibrant relationships.

I will cover the aspects of “ Cultivating Vibrant Relationships” in a series of articles starting from next week.

Happy Reading!

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.