Positive Thinking: A Winning Bet
Have you witnessed surges of optimism and solidarity in recent weeks? Although cynicism is more or less a common attitude, a few diehards maintain their optimism despite the anxiety-provoking side of the period we are going through. They have understood that their positivity ensures greater performance for them and their teams. Why is positive thinking a sure bet for you? And how can you make it a habit for your teams?
In early 2010, the French artist Elvire Bonduelle chose and cut out “positive” articles that appeared in the daily newspaper Le Monde (a title that means “The World”). The goal: to create an issue entitled Le Meilleur Monde (“The Better World”) made up exclusively of good news. It took Bonduelle more than three months to put together a whole issue (16 pages)—because scarcely 1 percent of articles in the paper were positive. And 10 years later, you do not feel that you are spared in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis by this generalized pessimism! Paradoxically, uncertainty and less and less predictable turbulences call for another attitude than withdrawal or negativity: in fact, perseverance, initiative, and creativity are the qualities that are unquestionably required in the workplace. These three values are deeply linked to your capacity to break with cynicism and fear, and shift the organization’s focus back toward optimism.
« Éloge de l’optimisme : quand les enthousiastes font bouger le monde » [In Praise of Optimism: When Enthusiasts Move the World, by Philippe Gabilliet, (Saint-Simon, November 2010)
“Why It Pays To Be an Optimist” by Martha E. Mangelsdorf, (MIT Sloan Management Review, December 2010)
“Lead with Optimism” by Anthony Tjan, (Harvard Business Review, May 2010)
“How I Became an Optimist” by Tony Schwartz, (Harvard Business Review, April 2011)
“Are Happy People Dumb?” by Shawn Achor, (Harvard Business Review, March 2011).
Developing your optimism is giving you the opportunity to believe in your chances
Contrary to a widely held belief, optimism is not an innate personality trait, but a state of mind that can be developed and drawn on in daily life.
Optimists are not lucky by nature: they are simply much more receptive to the opportunities that present themselves. This requires being ready not only emotionally (positive thoughts) but also intellectually: you have to have set a precise direction for your ambitions to perceive how day-to-day happenings (meeting new people, events, etc.) can allow you to reach your goals. Desirable opportunities emerge when you pay attention to the potential of each situation. This openness rests, in large part, on the capacity to build networks, and thus to adopt a trusting stance toward others that puts mutual enrichment at the heart of every relationship. To be able to seize new opportunities, you yourself must be an opportunity for others.
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