A GIRL was going past a man who was washing his car with a special brush. Stopping suddenly, she said to him, «You know what? My dad also has a brush to wash cars.
«»Great!» said the man. «I’m sure he washes his car very well with that brush, like I’m washing mine.»
«No,» replied the little girl. «My dad doesn’t have a car yet, but he’ll be able to buy one soon.
«What do you think about this girl’s mindset? It tells me about someone who talks about the blessings of God even though she cannot see them; it tells me that she has not surrendered to defeat or pessimism, and that she looks forward in faith every day with passion and optimism. I sincerely believe that our Father needs daughters with that same attitude—women who, with faith and hope, look at Jesus every day and feel victorious.
«But what if I’m not an optimist?» you are perhaps asking yourself. I have good news for you. According to researchers in the field of psychology, Martin Seligman and Carol Dweck, optimism can be learned; that is, being an optimist within the reach of everyone. That is not all: it has also been scientifically demonstrated that looking toward the future with faith, hope, and optimism raises our levels of happiness. What better motivation is there to begin learning?
Webster’s New World Dictionary says that optimism is «the tendency to take the most hopeful or cheerful view of matters.» How can we learn it? According to Shawn Achor, a professor at Harvard University, there are five simple ways to train for optimism (or what is the same, learn to be an optimist):
1) Meditate. In our case as Christian women, what better than to meditate on the Bible.
2)Wait for something longingly. How do you feel about Christ’s return?
3) Do acts of goodness. That is, be helpful. Of course, that is one of the calls of the gospel.
I propose that you begin the year by making a decision: training for optimism. Let us develop the habit of living with a positive mentality, laden with faith and resolve, so that we may receive the inheritance that God has promised us.
«Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises»(Hebrews 6: 12)