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The S.T.U.P.I.D. Email – Aug 29, 2021
By Bruno Souza | life
Skill, Thought, Unique, Person, Interesting, Daring
A fun, weekly round of Career ideas!
I have been thinking this past few days about optimism.
Is optimism a skill?
Is it a mindset?
Worldview?
A habit?
I’m not sure…
I think that in a sense, it could be a skill.
After all, optimism is not turning a blind eye to the problems, nor just believing everything will magically work out.
Optimism is actively looking around for positive reaches.
It is to look for ways to take positive actions.
Even in the middle of difficulties…
And look, I’m not saying this is easy.
Sometimes it is very, very difficult…
It is hard to be optimistic when working on a bad job or under a bad manager.
When life hits you, it may be even harder to be optimistic…
When you loose your job or have economic difficulties…
Or maybe you are hit with bad health problems…
Or even worst things…
This is where the skill comes in.
Skills help us exactly when things are difficult!
And it is a worthily skill.
Research shows that optimism is specifically related to people having 11 to 15% longer life span, and having greater odds living to the age of 85 or beyond.
It is also associated to increased job performance and job satisfaction, and to reduced job stress and work-life conflict.
Not bad hum?
So, let’s try to be a bit more optimistic everyday!
Specially when things look bad!
“Pronoia is the suspicion the Universe is a conspiracy on your behalf”
John Perry Barlow
Pronoia is the opposite of paranoia.
A person experiencing pronoia feels that the world around them conspires to do them good.
When you feel like this, you look for the good in any situation.
You spend more time trying to find a positive outcome.
You search harder for actions you can do.
That helps you find good alternatives that are not obvious.
Alternatives that others less optimistic may fail to see.
And when you see those positive alternatives…
That no one else was able to see…
People say you are lucky…
Go figure…
Last week we had The Developers Conference (TDC) event.
It is an event that I participate at for many years.
For me, it is a unique event.
It is nothing like any event I know. For several reasons.
But one is very special for me:
It is a HUGE opportunity for speakers.
During the event last week we had 1017 speakers.
From first timers to world champions speakers.
TDC is the place to be if you want to speak.
The Call for Papers for TDC Future, that will happen end of November, is open now.
It is an international event, with tracks in Portuguese and English.
You can speak there.
You should do it.
When talking about speakers, one amazing speaker that comes to mind is Elder Moraes.
Once, I saw him get 11 talks approved from 12 that he submitted for one particular event.
He helped organize the first international TDC, and will be involved in TDC Future.
In the last TDC, I met Elder for a speaker mentoring, to help people submit talks.
It was in Portuguese (you can watch here).
For TDC Future, we should do one in English. Interested?
Join here, and I’ll invite you when we schedule!
Speaking is an interesting thing to do in your career.
Besides the many advantage and skills it brings to you, speaking helps you to be more optimistic.
How?
First, when you speak, you help others.
This helps you see the value that you are bringing to them.
You also meet other speakers, and get help from them.
This gets you to see how others can help you too.
You get questions about situations others are facing.
This opens your mind to find solutions you never though of.
People that watch your presentations want you to succeed…
(yes… it is better for them if your talk is good!)
That gives you a sense of pronoia.
All of this brings to you and your audience a sense of gratitude.
This is also a trait of optimism.
If you want to work on being more optimistic
and work on improving your speaking skills,
you can watch this Speaker Secrets Mentoring.
It was presented during Oracle Code One.
It covers a lot of speaking material!
Hope you enjoyed those tips! Let me know what you need to get your career moving!
Cheers,
Bruno.