Tuesday, 22 May 2012

BEING OPTIMISTIC IN HANDLING CHALLENGES IN OUR TIMES


All of us have issues at hand that will either enable us to make or break, make us succeed or discourage us or even make us change our minds. These are the challenges that make people different. Some will be seen to be strong and others seen as weak or cowards. The whole concept is on how we perceive optimism. I am here to encourage you to be optimistic no matter the circumstances at hand. As a man, your family is dependent on you. You have to give them hope in all situations.
We all live in the same world, but within that world, each of us creates our own small world. Our small worlds are made of ideas and beliefs. These ideas and beliefs present us with the ability to face the big world in which we live. Some people have created a world of negativism, self-defeating ideas, and self-imposed limitations. Others live in a world of faith, they are optimistic about life, and they believe in the supernatural power of God.
Life is full of challenges, but these challenges can be interpreted differently. Some people look at them as obstacles, while others look at them as opportunities.
There is no obstacle that life brings which cannot be overcome. All great achievers have proven this to be true. There has never been a winner who has not faced tough times and dead ends, times when everything seemed to go dead, no money, no friends, no new ideas, no inspiration, no hope or faith, no strength to move on. But in the midst of all that, winners hang on optimistically and ride out the rough moments. They are persistent, they have convictions, and they have faith, enthusiasm and courage.
Obstacles are there to cause us to grow strong, to refine and purify us, and sad to say, they are there to weed out the lazy and the sluggish, those who have no aspirations, those who have no faith and are not optimistic. Optimistic people have several characteristics that set them apart from the crowd. These have made me strong and hence the need to share them with you.
A.       Characteristics of the Optimistic Person
1.                  Have faith. They have faith in God and His creation .God is in control of all our situations. We have to have faith in this God. Without faith it is impossible to please God. We come to God in faith.
2.                  Anticipate a good outcome. Optimistic people are those who anticipate the best possible outcome in life, in others, themselves, and the world around them. They avoid all things that are negative.

3.                  They believe in themselves. They believe in being themselves and seek to grow to what they should be. They do not seek to copy or try to be somebody else. They do not believe in defeat or failures, but believe that they, like anybody else, can make mistakes. They turn their mistakes into learning aids and stepping stones toward excellence. They face the future in confidence.
4.                  Express thoughts of victory. They express their thoughts precisely without the fear of being misunderstood. They express thoughts of victory, thoughts of overcoming obstacles, and they carry the seeds of success, victory, strength and love wherever they go.
5.                  Risk takers - They take risks. They are persistent. They stick with it until they make it.
6.                  Make lemonade from lemons. They turn their problems into opportunities. They refuse to be stuck with the bad circumstance or situation. They believe and see that God can get them out of the situation, no matter how bad it looks.

7.         Believe in people - They believe in human greatness, the power of faith and the power of God that is in operation in the world.

 8.     Accept only constructive criticism. Critics and skeptics may work hard to discourage them, but they accept only constructive criticism and move on with life.

B. Pessimistic People.

The reverse can be said of pessimistic people. They are very skeptical of  things/people, of others which we do not understand. Also they are judgmental – do we pass judgment on people with whom we disagree in ideas, values, or concepts. Included in the same is that they are critical - slow to change and rigid in the way we perceive the world around us, strongly resistant to new ideas, self-defeating in behavior, always noticing why something or an idea will not work, believe in human  weaknesses, failures, and limitations, and let past mistakes and failures control their future.

      C. Optimistic People

Optimistic people are willing to give God a chance to work through them, in spite of their shortcomings and past failures.  They are open-minded and are willing to try new ideas, experiences, and foods.  At the same time they are willing to take new challenges and new opportunities, to cultivate their faith, to expand their borders and horizons, to enlarge their territories, mind and experiences.

D.      How to Develop Optimism

We can manage our lives, our family or those under us optimistically, and help each other reach our highest potential. We have to allow God to become our life-time partner. Believe that He wants the best for us. Believe in His strength and His miracle-working power. Spend more time reading faith building Scriptures.
We need to spend time with people who uplift our faith, people with positive outlooks on life. People with good attitudes will help us to become a better person.
Everyone has weaknesses, failures, mediocrity, but we also have skills, strengths, excellence, and above all, a BIG GOD, through whom we can do all things.
We will become what we imagine ourselves to be. Our imaginative power can change our lives for better or worse. Romans 8:6-7 “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be”.(NKJV)
Do not limit God. When we are carnally minded, we kill the vision God has for us Joshua 13:1 “Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the LORD said to him: "You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed”.(NKJV)We need to stop limiting our God-given potential. We limit God when we do not believe in ourselves. We need to identify walls that we have built around ourselves, the walls of self-defense, negative attitudes, doubts, and closed mindedness. We cannot allow people to water down our faith by their "It cannot be done" attitudes.
An optimistic person believes in the principle that there is always room for progress and advancement. He believes that nothing is impossible when we let God help us achieve our goals. This person also believes in the excellence of mankind, when one stands on the Word of God and allows God's creative power to flow through him.
        E.   See What the Bible says.
Notice how much emphasis is placed on the words that come out of our mouths. Proverbs 6:2: “You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth.”(NKJV)
Proverbs 18:21:”Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit”.(NKJV).
Let our lips speak words of life.

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