With Egyptian society deeply polarised and tensions coming to a head in every neighbourhood across the country, it is not surprising that people are profoundly disturbed by the seemingly endless bile and bloodshed around them. Amidst the mayhem, we have a choice: either to lose our heads, which won't help, or to stick to hope, sharpen our attitude, our self-motivation and our positive focus. Attitudes and emotions involved during hard times should still be as positive as possible. It's a tall order to remain optimistic when everything is falling apart around you, but if we can work on it, we will be sure to reap serious rewards. After all, the people of Egypt are notorious for their sense of humour and sanguinity in the worst of times. Optimism doesn't just boost your mood, according to new research. It strengthens the immune system and can be objectively defined as the tendency to expect that life will be mostly good. Optimism is the hidden key to your personal and business success. Research proves that optimists do vastly better than pessimists in their life. They also live longer than their pessimistic peers. They may recover more quickly from surgeries and perhaps respond better to cancer treatments and have healthier pregnancies. Optimists are more satisfied with their romantic relationships and have more satisfied partners, according to a Michigan State University study. Optimism appears to be an “enduring resource” for couples, say researchers, promoting cooperation, closeness, commitment and fidelity. Therefore, experts divulge these useful techniques to help you instantly feel upbeat, confident and optimistic: - Straight posture and big steps: Straighten your posture, walk fast and take big steps to exude confidence. - Cheerful voice: Make your voice cheerful to feel upbeat. Psychological research has proven that a person feels the emotion he or she is acting at the moment. A cheerful voice is the fastest way to act optimistic. - Use upbeat words, such as “opportunity”, “recharging” and “bumming”. - Use upbeat attitudes: Focus on solutions and not problems. Every time a difficulty pops up, immediately create solutions and put them into action. - Be a magnificent role model: If you are a delightfully optimistic role model for employees, co-workers, family and friends, then you simultaneously make yourself optimistic. Make sure people see you with a straight posture, taking big steps, speaking in a cheerful voice, using upbeat words and focussing on solutions. - Avoid emotional vampires who put you down, criticise you or mock or sabotage your dreams and aspirations. Remember that happy and optimistic people hang around with personal cheerleaders. - Optimism and happiness by the numbers: A simple way to become optimistic is to count your way to more positive thoughts. Focus on counting and switching your bad thoughts to upbeat and uplifting thoughts. Your goal is to decrease the number of times you need to switch. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity Albert Einstein
