If you believe in the laws of attraction, you’ll understand that your mindset is crucial because it allows you to manifest things into reality. In addition, a positive mindset lets you achieve your goals and purpose, especially if you work hard to accompany your belief. However, staying positive can often be challenging, particularly when life throws curveballs your way. Adversity affects people deeply, causing positive people to crumble under pressure and become more pessimistic and cynical because things aren’t going their way.
Steven Nickodemski is no stranger to adversity. His countless accomplishments might have made the wounds inflicted by hardship less severe, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been put through the wringer by life. Staying positive in such circumstances can take a toll on anyone, but Steven has devised the perfect mindset to approach life – realistic optimism. This term refers to maintaining a positive yet realistic approach to life. He prefers this approach over idealism because it requires acknowledging negative circumstances and addressing them while hoping things will turn out well.
Apart from that, he also considers realistic optimism helpful because it enables people to stay grounded as they try to achieve their purpose. Furthermore, a real approach allows people to create an action plan to help them achieve attainable goals while preventing them from becoming overwhelmed by lofty ambitions and unrealistic targets. Thus, it can be argued that a realistic approach is crucial for people hoping to achieve a desired outcome because it helps them maintain perspective in the grand scheme of things.
A practical approach is necessary for maintaining realistic optimism in life. Filtering out negative emotions and channeling positive ones is vital. According to Steven, journaling is an incredibly effective habit that has worked wonders. Writing his thoughts and feelings on paper is cathartic because it allows him to understand what’s going on and how he’s feeling. He also believes seeing a therapist is beneficial because they can help identify unhealthy thought patterns and provide clinical insight into how to address them.
Steven has had to learn to stay optimistic over time because it was easy to get lost in negative emotions and feelings. Just like everyone else, he had to face considerable challenges in life. He grew up in a broken, abusive home with divorced parents. His mother was suicidal, and his father was a raging alcoholic. His mother also suffered tremendous physical and psychological abuse from her partners. So, naturally, it also took a toll on this talented individual in his formative years.
Moreover, he idolized his mother because he admired her determination and drive. Despite the abuse and hardship she faced, his mother was still able to make something of herself, serving as a great role model for Steven. She also possessed unmatched tenacity and refused to give up, which Steven has tried to emulate. Unfortunately, his mother passed away when he was 22, and the loss significantly affected his outlook on life.
Gloomy days and trying times followed after his mother’s demise. Losing a parent is never easy, especially not when it’s due to cancer. Unfortunately, Steven would also lose his father down the line to liver cancer, prompting him to write a memoir of his teenage years called The Marginalized Passenger. Unfortunately, the experience wasn’t enjoyable because it forced the author to relieve traumatic memories from his childhood. As a result, he had to realign his mindset after the experience.
Writing his memoir taught Steven Nickodemski the importance of having a positive mindset because it lets you control your destiny. Moreover, the right attitude is critical because it enables you to find contentment, joy, and fulfillment in your life. Some people often think being realistic and optimistic isn’t possible because it’s an inevitable contradiction, but he doesn’t ascribe to that. Instead, he thinks realistic means acknowledging existing limitations and setting realistic goals, while optimism means maintaining hope as you navigate hurdles. Thus, being realistically optimistic is more than possible. You might find a more nuanced take on Steven’s realistic optimism approach in his second book coming soon.