Nothing makes my skin crawl like hearing a motivational cliché. “Look on the bright side!” “Make lemons into lemonade!” “Turn that frown upside down!” These expressions completely invalidate natural human responses to adversity. They suggest that shifting your emotions is simply a matter of choice. As a motivational speaker, this kind of language embarrasses me. When audiences hear “motivational speaker,” they expect me to speak in these terms.
I’ve come to learn that while the language itself is cheesy, the wisdom behind it stands true. There are measurable benefits to optimism. Countless studies have linked longer life expectancy and better health. One study showed a lower risk of coronary heart disease among optimistic older men. Another study concluded that optimistic women live longer.
Research out of Flinders University, Adelaide concluded that student achievement in mathematics was lower among students with a pessimistic outlook on life. Many other studies have connected optimism with educational and professional success. A simple Google search for studies on optimism will reveal a plethora of research all drawing the same conclusion: Optimism is good and pessimism is bad.
My challenge as a motivational speaker is to sell audiences on the benefits of optimism. I don’t think this is done through clever metaphors and wordplay. I think it can be done through logic.
When you believe something good is possible, I don’t know if it causes that thing to magically manifest (as some would suggest). What it does is make you more aware of your environment. When you expect opportunities to reveal themselves, you open your eyes wider. You notice more.
Think of a color. Now look around the room with that color in mind. Observe how that color seems to pop out. We notice what we’re looking for. That’s why pessimists can always find things to reinforce they’re negativity. They’re looking for the bad stuff.
You’ll get what you focus on. Keep your eyes open for solutions and opportunties, and I assure you, they’ll pop out as well.
Related posts:
- Motivational Speaker Asks, “Are Your Pursuing Golden Goals or Plastic Trophies?”
- Finding Strength in Purpose When Faced With Challenges
- Motivational Speaker Asks: Can One Bad Apple Spoil The Bunch?
- Motivational Speaker Asks: “Why Are You Reading This?”
- Speaker Scott Greenberg in Galapagos Islands with YPO
