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    “In Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, a documentary about optimism and its power, [Michael J.] Fox asked a number of people how they would define optimism. One boy smiled and said, ‘Optimism is like Santa.’ He was right: optimism is a gift giver, one that keeps on giving. I have learned that optimism will help you and others find your way even when the path is not obvious. It is an attitude and a way of life that can and will drive us to where we need to be.”

    Bert R. Mandelbaum, MD, via The Win Within (Page 89)

      “Sunshine all the time makes a desert.”

      Arab proverb

        “All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, till they take root in our personal experience.”

        Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Sunbeams (Page 19)

          “Optimism is usually defined as a belief that things will go well. But that’s incomplete. Sensible optimism is a belief that the odds are in your favor, and over time things will balance out to a good outcome even if what happens in between is filled with misery. And in fact you know it will be filled with misery. You can be optimistic that the long-term growth trajectory is up and to the right, but equally sure that the road between now and then is filled with landmines, and always will be. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.”

          Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money

          James Allen Quote on Strengthening the Mind

            “As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training, so the man of weak thoughts can make them strong by exercising himself in right thinking.”

            James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

            Beyond the Quote (98/365)

            The connection between careful and patient training and physical improvements is, in my estimation, much more firm than the connection with training and mental or emotional improvements. One of the main reasons for this might be that physical improvements are tangible—we can see the them, feel them, and are constantly being reminded of them.  Every time we look in a mirror or take a selfie on our phone or see pictures that were posted—we are reminded. 

            Read More »James Allen Quote on Strengthening the Mind

            Mark Divine Quote on The Art Of Positive Thinking

              “The art of positive self-talk is simply paying attention to your inner dialogue and directing it toward positive, performance-based language.  Most people don’t take the time to sit back and witness their own thoughts, which is an essential step toward realizing that our thoughts are not who we are.  They don’t control us.  They’re just thoughts.  The only power they have is what we give them—what we feed them.  Once you create that mental distance between you and your thoughts, you can start to tame and manage them.”

              Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal

              Beyond the Quote (28/365)

              The difference between false-positivity and performance-based positivity is in the types of actions each inspire you to take.  In the first, you put a happy face on, you mask your emotions, and you distract yourself from the real problems with positive thinking—it’s a diversion and is nothing more than an avoidance strategy that leads to inaction.  In the second, positivity is looked at as a strategy that can be deployed and used to best deal with tough situations or emotions that are at hand.  Because if we’re going to deal with the situation(s) regardless (given that you’re not going to bury your head in the sand) we might as well do it from a place where we are mentally at our best.

              Read More »Mark Divine Quote on The Art Of Positive Thinking

                “I would say, that I am applying the ‘butterfly wing’ theory to my everyday life.  It’s a kind of moral dictum, moral responsibility to keep in mind that whatever I do this second affects what the next second will be.  So I try not to do anything negative, which is my best insurance that the world will be better next second, or at least not worse.  But of course, my positive action may be undermined by 100 negative actions of others and so it may mean nothing.  But I still have to follow that dictum.  You can call it optimism.” ~ Jonas Mekas, via Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 212)

                  “Normal, natural emotions are now seen as good or bad. And being positive has become a new form of moral correctness. People with cancer are automatically told to just stay positive. Women, to stop being so angry. And the list goes on. It’s a tyranny. It’s a tyranny of positivity. And it’s cruel. Unkind. And ineffective. And we do it to ourselves, and we do it to others.” ~ Susan David, Ph.D, Mindful