Because a business organisation is a unit consisting of hundreds of thousands of human beings, their skills, mentality and commitment can be considered critical factors for the business success. Today’s businesses are keen on recruiting highly capable and innovative team members. In other words, optimists are always in high demand. There should always be something that energizes the team to move forward in an unpredictable environment. The thing is optimism. As being optimistic opens a window of opportunities, let’s have a closer look at it. 

Winston Churchill had once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” The world is constantly changing and what we don’t expect does happen. An optimist is a person who always expects good things to happen or things to be successful. It seems to be difficult to be an optimist in the dynamic world. However, if you really grasp the significance of optimism, undoubtedly, you take pains to change your attitudes for being optimistic about what you are doing.


Advantages 
An optimist changes not only his life but also the lives of others around him. The effect that optimistic individuals can have on an organisation’s creativity and innovation is immeasurable. To be innovative, you need to be open to new ideas, wide open to seeing possibilities, willing to take risks and encourage others to take risks, willing to challenge the process in order to create new solutions to the problems with which the company has been struggling. You need to have a sense of adventure and an expectation of success. 

Studies have shown that people with an optimistic outlook have healthier relationships, enjoy better mental and physical health and live longer than others, as they always have a hope. It is the hope that makes people live. Now, you might think where optimism comes from - it is something we are born with or it is learned. For some lucky individuals, being optimistic comes naturally. The good news is, for those who don’t have it naturally, optimism is an attitude that can be learned and practiced. You are able to change yourself and finally even the world, by being optimistic. An optimist is always ahead of others and the success is not too away from him. Think that every dark cloud has a silver line. If you can see the silver line in darkness, you can light your life with that silver line. 


Facts to be pondered 
Those who have a pessimistic outlook typically approach changes to the status quo with the familiar: “We tried this before”, “It won’t work”. Such individuals often label themselves as “devil’s advocate”. How can someone who has a pessimistic outlook embrace a change? Pessimistic employees, although highly qualified in the chosen area, cannot be prevented from being a great cost to the organisation. It goes from bad to worse, once they sow pessimistic ideas in the minds of other team members.

Pessimism is just like an ice berg, the larger part of which is invisible. Employees might think pessimistically as they don’t have the necessary knowledge, experience, motivation and suitable environment. Properly designed training workshops can be conducted by the company, so that pessimistic ideas will be shattered. However, the larger portion lies on the hand of the person in this respect. 

Once you admire yourself, your strengths grow, so that you will be able to easily face challenges in the future. Take a few minutes to chat with yourself; it will take you a long journey. Reading successful persons’ biographies gives you optimistic attitudes. When you are in trouble or utterly bereft, you may think that you are going to face the world’s biggest challenge. However, it is once you read biographies you know that there have been people who faced more serious challenges than you did. It will help you normalize your problems. Generalizing problems is the best way to face and resolve them.  
 
Optimism, therefore, is also an important component of achievement and is especially important in times of chaos, change and turbulence. Those who have an optimistic outlook will roll with the punches, will be more proactive and persistent and will not abandon hope. No more evidence is required to prove that those that changed the world are optimistic individuals.

These are easily understandable and practical suggestions to change the way you think.

(Amila Muthukutti holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Colombo and can be reached at [email protected])