High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 564: The Power of Optimism

Episode Date: September 12, 2023

In this episode, Cindra talks about the power and benefits of optimism. She also describes a strategy to help us choose optimism called the Three OPP Strategy. The Three OPP Strategy helps you look at the glass as half-full, not half-empty, and continue to see the opportunities in the difficulties, setbacks, and adversity.   This Week's Power Phrase: “I choose optimism. I believe the best is yet to come!”    This Week's Quote: “Optimism isn’t a belief that things will automatically get better, it’s a conviction that we can make things better.” - Melinda Gates 

Hi friends, my name is Dr. Sindra Kampoff, a national leader in the field of sport and performance psychology. Every week I'm on the local radio sharing my top tips on exactly how to develop the mindset of the world's best, so you can accomplish all your dreams. Get ready for a jammed, packed episode focused on practical tips to help you get after your goals and step out of your comfort zone. Let's go. It's time to check in with Cyndra Kampoff today. A little positivity inserted into your work week

with the power of optimism. Cyndra, what are we starting off with a quote today on? I love this quote by Melinda Gates and she said, optimism isn't a belief that things will automatically get better. It's a conviction that we can make things better. And what are we talking about today? Well, let me start actually with a story about optimism. And a few years ago, I was leading a workshop on mindset for a construction company in New York City. And the evening before, I was having dinner with the owner.

And during the dinner conversation, he just kind of factually told me that a former employee had stolen 270 000 from their company oh my gosh and he said i know and he said it was like really little emotion right like it was like a fact and i you know i was like wow a quarter of a million dollars and you know what's what was so impressive is that instead of having a really negative emotional reaction, he just responded with hope and optimism and just this relentless belief that his business would actually get better. And he said, my mindset was peace, and I knew we were going to get through it together. And what was amazing is they were able to, that next year, generate $15 million in sales, which was an increase from $10 million the year before.

And he said the employee stealing our money was the best thing that have ever happened. He said challenges make you so much better for the next thing. Isn't that incredible? That is really an incredible story and to have that mindset. But how does this relate to us? Well, I think, you know, because of the way he responded as a leader, his staff was able to really continue to build the company. And he could then positively impact tens of thousands of people just through their work.

And I think it's a great story of just practicing optimism, something that the research clearly shows really helps build businesses. Because when you're optimistic, you just have a general expectation that good things will happen. You see the future as bright, and you believe that success will continue, and you also believe that bad events and setbacks are rare, and they won't continue. And why is this so important for us? It's important because optimism is just a core pillar in building our grit. And so there's two researchers who summarized 25 years of research, and they found

that optimism was actually correlated with entrepreneurial success. It's a defining characteristic of entrepreneurs. But the thing is, is that it doesn't just help entrepreneurs. And the good thing is that optimism can be taught. We can train ourselves to see difficulties and obstacles and setbacks as really opportunities. And when we do so, we can maintain our confidence and our grit. And it's really about how we respond to difficulties that matter the most. And so what are the benefits? Some of those other benefits of optimism, what are they? Well, you know, when we cultivate optimism, it does help us feel good, right?

But one longitudinal study, for example, Marty Seligman's work showed that those who practice optimism actually live longer, they perform better and more consistently, they make more money, they're also more loyal, they experience less pressure and stress, and they have more confidence and resilience. So that's a lot of benefits just to practicing optimism. And we know, you know, especially in our career, that optimism really helps us see, you know, opportunities even despite failure. And how do we continue to choose optimism if this can be taught and you can train yourself? How do we continue to keep doing that? Well, in my book, Beyond Grit for Business, I give a strategy called the three-op strategy.

And this just really helps us look at, you know, the glass is half full, not half empty. And what it does is it's just two quick steps. First, you could think about a difficulty you're experiencing right now. And then the second step would be to ask yourself, what are the opportunities here? And it's a good idea to be to ask yourself, what are the opportunities here? And it's a good idea to consider, you know, what are three opportunities that can come from the difficulty? Because naming three really helps us push us to be more creative. And usually what I found is that the third opportunity that we come up with really energizes us the most. And it's a fresh idea that we haven't really considered.

So three-op strategy, ask yourself what's the opportunity three times when you're experiencing a difficulty. What's the power phrase this week? I like this one. I choose optimism. I believe the best is yet to come. That's something you should just keep repeating for yourself. And, Cinder, if we want to get more information, maybe read the book that this is mentioned in.

What do we need to do? Where do we go? You can head over to beyondgrit.com. And this particular segment is from Beyond Grit for Business. You can head over there and find more information about the book there. Way to go for finishing another episode of the High Performance Mindset. I'm giving you a virtual fist pump. Holy cow, did that go by way too fast for anyone else? If you want more, remember to subscribe and you can head over to Dr. Sindhra for show notes and to join my exclusive community for high performers where you get access to videos about mindset each week. So again, you can head over to Dr. Sindhra. That's D-R-C-I-N-D-R-A.com. See you next week.