Are the Difficulties You Encounter a Closed Door or an Open Door?

As hard as it may be to believe, every difficulty presents you with an opportunity. I grant you that they’re not always easy to spot and it takes practice to learn how to spot them.

But when you do spot them, what do you notice first? Do you see a door closing and what you can’t do in these situations? Or do you see a door opening and what you can do in these situations?

If all you can see is what is wrong in a situation, you’re a pessimist. You are more likely to fall into a depression, think that things like that always happen to you, and it will never change for the better.

If you can rise above what is wrong to see what positive possibilities exist in a situation, you’re an optimist. You are more likely to look at what went wrong and see what you can learn from it. You will tend to gather up the pieces, decide what else you can do with them, and go on.

While you will tend toward one mind-set and approach, you are likely to be a little of both. Being a little of both is advantageous. It means you are likely to be situationally flexible. This is very important in all areas of your life but particularly important in your self-promotion.

Your pessimistic inclination helps you be analytical and realistic. You can see what factors need to be considered and addressed. You can see where the boundaries are. Pessimism is grounded in the present which helps with objective assessment. But it also tends to dampen creativity.

Optimism, on the other hand, helps you consider all the factors in a more positive way. This means you are more likely to see what opportunities may lurk as well as temper pessimistic negativity that may interfere. Optimism is grounded in the future and tends to heighten creativity and forward thinking. But it also tends not to give full weight to all the possible implications of each option.

To be a confident and effective self-promoter, you need to act analytically AND in a forward-thinking manner. So the next time you meet a situation, you don’t want to negatively discard it out of hand or jump on it positively without assessing it.

For example, the “Bridging Heart and Marketing Conference” February 22-24. A pessimist might say, “I don’t want to spend money on a conference, hotel, and flight.” An optimist might say, “I’ll learn so much and meet important people.” But a more balanced approach would be, “This info is on the cutting edge being given by savvy people. I don’t want to miss it or the networking. Becoming an affiliate and taking off-hour flights could significantly reduce my costs.”

Consequently, being both pessimistic and optimistic – present-oriented and future-oriented ‑ enhances your finding the best, most opportunity-filled solutions to achieve your marketing and life goals.