Optimism Is Badass
(and so are you)
Optimism is one of the most underrated leadership skills we have.
Not the toxic kind. Not “everything is fine” when it isn’t. The real kind. The kind that’s less about how you feel and more about what you decide.
Most people think optimism is something that happens to you. You wake up in a good mood. The news isn’t terrible. The meeting starts on time. And somehow, it shows up.
But that’s not optimism. That’s luck.
Real optimism is a practice. It’s deciding what you’re going to bring to a room before you know what the room is going to hand you. It’s a choice you make before you have proof it’s worth making. It’s staying in it when it gets hard, not because you’re naive, but because you’ve learned that your energy is contagious and leadership is, in part, an act of transfer.
The leaders I admire most aren’t the ones who feel the most optimistic. They’re the ones who choose it anyway. Those that stay in it longer and give it to the people around them, not as a performance, but as a gift.
That’s the practice. Choose it before you feel it. Stay in it when it gets hard. Give it to the room.
That’s not soft. That’s badass.
Totally agree, Claude! (your parents must’ve been very forward thinking! And then, Gary finds you… 😊)
I believe the human brain is designed to follow the desires of the heart, not the other way around.
While everything filters through thinking, it is important to lead with your heart. If that's where optimism lies, then so be it.
"Choose it before you feel it" is the line that does the heavy lifting here. The leaders I've watched up close who actually move organizations aren't the ones with the sunniest dispositions — they're the ones who've decided in advance what they're bringing into the room, and then deliver it whether or not the day cooperated. That's a discipline, not a personality trait, and I think most people miss the distinction.