Without a doubt, all Emotions have their charm and have a special appeal. Satisfaction is the pleasure of achieving what is expected, hope is the illusion of a better tomorrow, Love is intimacy put into practice, Sadness is a recovering release, Fear is the demonstration that we are alive, Fury is the expression that something matters to us, and so on.
But among all, Joy and Optimism are the most powerful and useful, for our work and personal life. Both are positive and complementary, desired by the vast majority of people but at the same time little used, their access is within everyone's reach and they cost nothing.
The first thing we learn in our lives, after crying, is to smile, as a demonstration of liking, acceptance and affection. We not only laugh when they tickle us, we also laugh when we enjoy the activity we are doing or when we bring back the memory of something nice and funny. Emotions can be created by
physical and mental means. Joy not only originates naturally and spontaneously, it can also be created of your own free will and at our convenience. We just need a little practice and a deep desire to feel and express it.
When people are asked what their greatest desire, goal or objective is, most without hesitation answer that "Be Happy", that is, feel and sweat Joy. For this reason, it is classified as a primary and essential emotion for our life and evolution. Happiness adds color to what we do, adds a very special motivation and gives meaning to the results. Our performance is never the same when Joy is missing, this inseparable friend and companion of success.
However, not all events and people bring us Joy, and neither do they do it with the same degree of intensity. A death, a failure, an aggression, a disappointment can be examples of the absence of Joy in our lives. But in either case, we are able to replace that emotion with Joy. How? Accepting pain as part of our growth, releasing past feelings that cannot and cannot change me, taking control of our lives and replacing thoughts with constructive and pleasant events and people.
Many times, the opposite occurs, we maintain with us rancor, sadness, revenge and hatred, as if this allows us to improve our being and being. We falsely think that by maintaining hatred, revenge increases or by increasing the duration of sadness, we pay tribute to the deceased. In general it is the opposite, the
affected we are ourselves and others neither affect nor benefit from it. In our hands is the decision to let go of what is not convenient for us and make way for what produces pleasure and benefit, such as Joy.
Hand in hand with Joy, Optimism goes, which is nothing more than the projection of it in time. It is seeing the happy side of things, the positive and hopeful face, the solution to any inconvenience or situation that comes our way. How to do it? With patience, observation, flexibility, vision, recursion and lots of joy. We must initially become aware that everything in life has multiple facets, that every problem is an opportunity, that behind the darkness there is always light, that behind the mountain there is always a new horizon. Then, it becomes an attractive and important exercise, the search for new ways of seeing situations, finding the skipping rope, as some would say.
It is not about becoming conformists, accepting everything that happens to us. It is about moving and acting in the right direction. Instead of sitting down to mourn for defeats, we must develop a philosophy of life where the past stays as the past, and its
teachings propel us towards new challenges and goals. Optimism is that beacon that should always guide us along the paths we travel, no matter how rugged they are or the dangers that lie in wait for them.
Let us remember that there is always a positive angle to look at, an encouraging environment to listen to, a friend to go to, a door to open and a new attitude to assume.
Therefore, if I had to choose between emotions, I would choose Joy and Optimism, the first one prepares me and the second guides me, both motivate me and encourage me to give my best, improve my results and my relationships, radiate and they magnetize environments, make me a better person, a better teammate and a better leader.
What are we waiting to make each and every one of our days, are flooded with Joy and Optimism? The key to achieving this is in our hands.
