A Glass Of Optimism

Orange is by far the most controversial colour in the palette. It’s like mushrooms, you love it or hate it. Not much in between. Unlike yellow, which is also bright and warm, people often really dislike it.

When I see it used in marketing, I always wonder how that affects their sales because it can be so polarising. You rarely see it used in automotive for that reason. It can be too much. When Ford launched the Territory in Australia, the CEO had to drive it of course. He was asked to drive it in the ‘hero’ colour, a deep but very bright orange. He said he felt like he was driving around in a giant mandarin.

Remember the Annoying Orange? He lived up to his name. To some orange is bothersome, but the world seems gloomy without it, right? It’s a lot like people. The ones in your life that are soooo damned optimistic! They can be annoying, but man the world is a duller place without them.

The word optimism is derived from the Latin word optimum or “best”.

Good mental health isn’t about being orange all the time. But it is about optimising what we have, making the best of it.

How can we optimise what we have? How do we make the most with what resources we have? Be super healthy and happy without polarising and being annoying?

In business, we know it’s all about how to get the most out of yourself and your people without exhausting and stressing everyone. In our private lives, living life to the fullest.

I say, get a tutor for what you’re good at, and get better at it. Build on your strengths.

Maybe we should delete this idea of focussing on your weaknesses. It’s a major flaw in our thinking, to constantly try to fix everything and everyone. I firmly believe it’s back to front. Trying to teach our kids to be good at everything, hiring tutors when they’re not.

What we end up with by trying to be good at everything is a jack of all trades, master of none world.

This doesn’t mean ignore your weaknesses, it means focus on what you’re good at, and build on that.

It might look like this.

Figure out what you’re good at. Good chance it’s what you already love.

Start doing whatever it is, even if you have to squeeze it in.

Remember garbage in, garbage out. Fill your head with good thoughts. Remove yourself from the negative people and situations. Just stop. This is a hard one, but incredibly important.

Allow a little bit of orange in, however annoying, a crazy joke, healthy thought, healthy habit, whatever works for YOU, not someone else. Drink a glass a glass of optimism every day. Find it. You already know where it resides in your life. Create a little moment of happiness between you and you.

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