Suppose we have a massive task before us. Time is of the essence, and assistance is low. There are three approaches to this situation. First, we could have a negative attitude and dread every minute of the project. Second, we could have a neutral stance and not care if it gets done or not. And third, we could have an optimistic approach. Which do most people have?

According to a Clearance Jobs article entitled 70% Of Workers Don’t Care About Their Jobs, most of us are only attending work.  

It is not natural for people to have an optimistic attitude. Well, sort of, our optimism lies with the fact that the project will fail. Why are we negative? Surprisingly it’s not for a negative reason. We look at the potential dangers to get an idea of what could go wrong, and we plan accordingly. Our mistake starts at the moment we stay focused on the possible wrong. How can an ounce of success survive in a cynical world? Focus on failure, and failure is what we will see. It is as simple as that. Learning how to focus on the positive while monitoring the negative will land us on our target. It’s similar to navigating a bicycle between two narrowly placed cones—focus on the cones, and our change of hitting a cone increases. Focus on the route we need to take, and chances of success increase as well. It’s known as target fixation. 

When handed an impossible task, we should take the time to break it into small steps. It will make the situation easier to digest mentally; no one eats a whole cake in one bite. It is due to our mouths being too small to do so, which brings up another good point. We need to know our limitations. The average person cannot lift a 3,000 lbs (1360.77 kgs) vehicle over their head. However, we can lift 20 lbs (9.07) over our heads ten times for a period of fifteen days. Understanding our limitations will help mitigate complications. 

An optimistic attitude is a healthy choice. Not only does it lower our stress, but it also allows us to produce dopamine. And, as we know, dopamine is that feel-good chemical in our brain. Life is brighter, with an optimistic view. It doesn’t mean we should ignore the troubles around us. Instead, we can overcome the obstacles in our way.