Riding Above the Waves of Life: The Key to Success in Business and Life

Realistic Optimism: Riding the Tides of Life To New Heights.

Success comes to those who want it, and who can visualize themselves succeeding. This is used by psychologists, hypnotherapists, and sports trainers the world over. It's the key to most martial arts success. And, more and more ...Realistic Optimism: Riding the Tides of Life To New Heights.

Success comes to those who want it, and who can visualize themselves succeeding. This is used by psychologists, hypnotherapists, and sports trainers the world over. It's the key to most martial arts success. And, more and more studies are showing, it's the key to success in business and in life. Those who watch the successful often wonder what the secret is, or envy their luck to live lives so fortunate; few see the truly successful in the same light as themselves; people make excuses for their own failure – life rises up and batters them down again and again, like the waves crashing onto the shore, wearing boulders down to sand.

Breaking those waves is a simple secret, and it's stunning in its simplicity: Realistic optimism.

Now, when we say optimism, we don't mean the Pollyannas who seem to have not only lost their grip on reality, but aren't even aware that reality has handles to hold on to. This is different; this is optimism based on careful assessment of reality. While you can't control your circumstances, you can control your reactions to them; when a storm hits and floods your basement, you can either bemoan the cruel fates that put you in its path, or you can start bailing the water out and helping clear the mess, or helping your neighbors out of their predicament. You are not a slave to your emotions, or the fickle whims of fate; your thoughts and visualizations of your own success can turn things around in your favor; it takes a commitment to this new mode of seeing yourself, and living, and a bit of practice.

Avoid the temptation to react to negative circumstances by becoming angry and bitter. Focus instead on finding ways to rectify the situation, and on what lessons you learned from the current events. Never try to pin these circumstances to yourself as being your fault; marinating yourself in guilt is no more productive than castigating the world in anger and ire. Learn from it, take a moment to vent and get the emotions out of your system, roll up your sleeves and fix the problem.

Take the time, when life throws you delays, like being stuck in traffic, to do something productive with your time. Catch up on emails. Watch birds. Do breathing exercises. Review your latest proposal in your mind; if you carpool, have your passenger read materials aloud to you that you need to review for your job. If it's bumper to bumper non-movement, turn the engine off, and read a book until the traffic clears. Meditate. Just do something useful rather than stew in your own stress hormones.

Life is built out of choices; remember to keep the positive options open and work towards them to make your life a happier one. Ultimately, your life is up to you.