Cooler than me

There are 5 traits that are most important in this life for an optimalist…

• Faith

• Empathy

• Optimism

• Resilience

• Awareness

They are not mutually exclusive.

You need each, and each feed into each other.

But the cornerstone trait is resilience.

Why?

Because life is hard. And you’ll encounter a lot of failure.

Without resilience, these facts will pin you down. You’ll lose the match before you even start.

A life spent in a negative energy field is waiting.

But it doesn’t have to be this way!

All you have to do is cultivate resilience.

Recall the tree growing on the side of the mountain. It has no reason to keep reaching for the sun.

The wind is merciless. The soil isn’t rich. Winters are brutal.

But it doesn’t care. It’s in it for the long haul. Forever.

This is the spirit of the optimalist.

You are strong.

You are anchored, not going anywhere.

You are resilient.

I lost my older sister when she was 23, my wife had a late stage miscarriage, my dad (and my best friend) died when I was 28.

I’ve had career setbacks and financial difficulties.

Heck, I shouldn’t have made it out of Wirt County, WV as a kid.

The deck has been stacked against me. Against all of us. My story isn’t particularly unique. There are others who have it MUCH worse, certainly.

But this doesn’t define me.

I have dreams, visions of the future, and a drive to improve my life and make an impact.

I am an optimalist. And optimalist’s are anti-fragile. They don’t just survive, they get better.

Suffering and setbacks only intensify the optimalist’s drive.

Mike Posner is a great example of this.

In 2010 he had a global hit with "Cooler Than Me.” And then fizzled out.

Mike didn’t stop though. He released an album in 2016 which wasn’t very successful but it did have the song "I Took a Pill in Ibiza.” A Norwegian duo, SeeB remixed it, giving Mike another global hit and a Grammy nomination.

None of which would have happened if he quit during those 6 years of little to no success.

His struggles weren’t all career related; he dealt with depression and the loss of his dad too.

Despite this, he was resilient. And he continues to make music and be a bright light of positivity in the world.

So, be more like Mike Posner.

Embrace the suck.

You have the light inside of you.

You are strong.

You are resilient.

We are in this for the long game.

Swanagan