Ever feel like throwing in the towel? When life goes off-track, you need the right strategy!

Have you had moments where it’s all just too much? Of course you have. We all have.

My father has a favourite quote that he stole from the famous Rocky Balboa, ‘It’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.’ This for me, and as it should for others, is a quote to live by.

These daunting setbacks and obstacles encountered in our lives are simply a part of life. However, we must overcome these setbacks and keep moving. With implementing positive psychology constructs, this can be achieved. Optimism is at the heart of positive psychology, often defined as holding a view of life events and situations in a positive manner and maintaining a positive attitude. It is also believed that there is a positive correlation between motivation and the potential benefits that can arise from optimistic beliefs, and perceived authenticity.

In a study which used 529 participants where they examined achievement and performance of the participants and compared those who had positive psychology characteristics such as; optimism, self hope, goals, motivation and more to those who didn’t; and indeed, findings support the connection of motivation theorists with regard to the adaptive benefits of holding positive self-beliefs such as self-concept, self-efficacy, and self-efficacy for self-regulation.

So remember… always look at the glass half full rather than half empty.

Frank Pajares (2001) Toward a Positive Psychology of Academic Motivation, The Journal of Educational Research, 95:1, 27-35, DOI: 10.1080/00220670109598780