[Chris]

I really don’t know how I came to have such an optimistic/positive attitude. But I am grateful for it. I had an unremarkable and semi-dysfunctional family growing up lower middle class in a rural town.

For me, the heart of optimism is believing we can overcome the challenges (small and big) that we face. Curiosity and creativity fuel my learning and desire to address challenges and opportunities.

Somewhere along the line I started seeing life and work behavioral patterns repeat. Good ones and bad ones. It was then that I realized that I had built some perspective (wisdom) about how things change (slowly and through the unpredictable dynamics of people and environment).

It allowed my stress levels to subside and I started navigating much more than pushing or driving or convincing. Negative outcomes don’t bother me as much as I see them as an inevitable part of the journey.

What I have started to get stressed about is explosion of negativity, self-righteousness and intolerance in social media. I actually fear the country is set up to go unstable with these conditions.

I guess I ended this optimistic reflection on a down note!