My Outlook on Optimism Month
March is Optimism Month, and as Winston Churchill once said, “Optimists see opportunities in every difficulty.” Embracing a positive mindset has been proven to bring you happiness while getting you one step closer to achieving your goals. Optimism decreases stress and improves both your physical and mental well-being. Channeling your energy into positive thinking is extremely important.
I’m a very optimistic person, and to be in business, you have to be! Things rarely go as you would like them to, especially when you’re just beginning. When I first started, I was young, fresh, and green — and highly optimistic. I didn’t have any negative experiences to base my thoughts off of, and I dove right in with positive thoughts. When I had one bad day, I would tell myself that the next our days would be good. And it worked — it lifted my spirits and helped me to keep on keeping on.
In the beginning, I made a lot of really bad, dumb, and silly financial mistakes, but I always recovered and maintained my optimism. Along the way, I realized that people often give up too easily and throw in the towel. Nobody makes any progress that way. You have to be willing to work hard and look on the bright side of things. When it comes to being a good parent, husband, and friend, I give everyone the benefit of the doubt. It takes a lot for me to lose my faith in people, and I’m always optimistic. We all can bounce back and learn from our wrongdoings. I don’t believe that anyone is here to do me wrong.
In the past, when my kids would try out for a sport, I’d see to it that they finished out the year. Even if they decided mid-season that they did not enjoy it, I wouldn’t allow them to quit. After the year finished, it’d be alright if they decided to not return the following year, but once they committed, they had to finish out the year.
My kids are also optimists — I’ve instilled that in my family. If you stop in the middle, then you’ll never give it a chance to really work. However, I am human and I do get down and discouraged, as we all do at times. But I never let anyone see that. I work through it and quickly return to seeing the bright side. When you stumble and fall, it’s always important to get back up. I grew up very poor as a kid, but I persevered and knew that I would grow up to change that — I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s instilled in me that I do whatever it takes to breed success. I’m not one to wait on the sideline for someone to help me. I’m the guy who’s out there making it happen.
- Randy Bunn