The Principles of Emotional Intelligence•Optimism is grounded in a sense of hope and is the naturally in-
tended state for the human psyche.- Attitude is a matter of direction, not feeling.
- The leading predictor for personal productivity is your own level of
personal expectations.
To begin this discussion on resilience and its relationship to outlook,
complete the “Resilience Reactor” in Figure 12.1.
The difference between getting beat up or bouncing back is, more often
than not, decided on how we process the events happening to us and around
us. This processing at the emotional level eventually casts us in a mold of
decided optimism, pessimism, or cynicism. Once this mold is cast, people
have a hard time steering their thoughts and reactions in a new direction.
In this chapter, I discuss the importance of nurturing a resilient mind-
set and the role optimism plays in that process. Optimism is the lifeblood
of great sales professionals, but like everyone else, even the great ones are
tempted to give in and give up.
97REDEFINING OPTIMISM