- Think out loud, ideally in writing, about all of the things that you’re grateful for.
- Think out loud about what you think would be nice, cool, interesting, good. Do this really quickly, so that you outrun your inner pessimist-critic. If pessimistic thoughts arise, think “no thanks, I’m good for now, I’m trying out optimism for a while as a change”. You can always criticize those thoughts later on. Make the list first.
- Review those ideas and look for the smallest, simplest things you can do to help make them marginally more likely to happen.
- Seek out and associate with optimistic people
- Be supportive and encouraging to the people in your life. Ask “how might we make that happen?”
Optimism to me is not merely a posture or an attitude, but a way of being.