CONFIDENCE & REALISTIC OPTIMISM

Written By Duane Nelson

2 IDEAS FROM ME

  1. Confidence is essential to manifest aspirational goals. Without confidence we lack the energy required to begin the journey and discover the necessary insights to survive the road of trials. Overconfidence can be fatal and lead to a life of unnecessary suffering.

  2. Realistic optimism is striking a realistic balance between healthy pessimism and optimism. Being too optimistic can be life-threatening if you underestimate the dangers. This could be climbing, skiing, riding a wild horse, or simply trying to save time on the job. Unfortunately, I was part of several investigation teams where workers died trying to save time by ignoring safety protocols. One worker tried to save 20 minutes by disabling safety interlocks to troubleshoot a problem inside a large robot. Equipment shelving inside the robot was six inches apart. He removed a shelf and climbed inside to investigate and asked his partner to rotate the shelves thinking he would get rotated around the machine. The safety protocol was to lockout all electrical energy and manually use a hand crank to rotate the shelves. He was crushed to death in the machine. Another worker lost his life when he removed his fall-protection to take a quick break and fell from the scaffolding.

2 QUOTES FROM SAGES

  1. “A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities, and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.” —Harry S. Truman

  2. The following RMP (Reframe, Mitigate, and Positive) process helps cultivate realistic optimism. —Jim Loehr, Tony Swartz, The Power of Full Engagement – Managing Energy Not Time is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, The Free Press, NY, NY, 2003. p 94.

    • Reframe a difficulty or threat as an opportunity.

    • Mitigate the worst-case scenario with realistic solutions.

    • Reflect on Positive experiences with similar situations. Focus on the things you can influence rather than those outside your control.

1 QUESTION FOR YOU TO EXPLORE

  1. What decision could you make this week that would significantly enhance your life experience if you had more confidence or realistic optimism?

Namaste,

Duane Nelson

Duane Nelson

Ultrajourney Insight is an Anacortes Washington-based non-profit organization providing mindfulness & well-being services designed to ignite the adventure of a lifetime. The founder, Duane Nelson, is a writer, speaker, and teacher with four decades of parenting, wilderness, & international technology leadership. His professional insights come from chemical engineering and automation leadership at Philips, Intel, and Amazon. His adventure insights flow from ultramarathons, mountaineering, canyoneering, and adventure racing in Nepal, Alaska, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Mexico, British Columbia and Alberta.

https://ultrajourneyinsight.org
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