When a person completes our optimism self-assessment questionnaire they are asked questions about optimism across various domains or roles of life.  The first domain is one’s personal view outside of any given role; perception of self as a person in general.  In addition to this general role which might be equated with a “sense of self-worth,” we can take on an optimistic or pessimistic perspective in a variety of life’s roles.

These role domains include the view we have of ourselves in any of the following areas including: at work, in a career, being a student, playing a sport, communicating with a spouse, as family member, in social settings, and maintaining our health, fitness and wellness.

For example, an individual may operate very well in the “optimistic zone” at work, e.g., easily letting go of a negative and taking on failure as an opportunity to learn while focusing on “doing the next right thing.”  However when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle that same individual may get on the scale once a week, note the lack of weight loss, and say to him or herself, “What’s the point? I might as well eat whatever I want whenever I want. At least with a diet of chocolate and potato chips, I will be happier.”

Such gaps may be obvious to someone, but sometimes the gap exists in a blind spot.  A number of years ago I was working with a couple that was having some difficulties in their relationship.  Though not married, they were in a serious relationship and wanted to try to fix some interpersonal difficulties that had kept them from a formal engagement.  At one point, I was talking to them about the use of certain key listening and negotiation skills.  When I got done explaining what these skills were, they said: “Oh, we know all about those skills since we teach them to our business students.”  I said: “Then why aren’t you using these to help build your relationship.”  Incredibly, they said: “We never thought of that.”

Once they uncovered the blind spot, they were able to quickly close the gap in their relational optimism.

Another kind of gap is the “time gap.”  Sometimes, we might go a half day, a day or two or more “accentuating the positive, eliminating the negative, and not messin’ around at all with Mr. /Ms. In-Between.”  Then, we come upon a period of time whether for a few hours, days or more when we are gripped by that “sticky pessimism.”

I was recently quite encouraged to hear from someone who was learning to fine tune their optimism for each and every moment of the day.  She informed me she had been stuck in traffic on the interstate and when she saw the road sign that said: “Construction Next Four Miles,” she felt annoyed and irritated.  Then drawing upon her “moment-to-moment” optimism skills she realized how much better it would be if the road commission would write the sign this way: “Construction ends in four miles.”

Now it is time to take stock of your “optimism gaps.”  Make a list of four to six domains or roles of life that are currently important to you such as job, husband, father, networker, assistant Little League baseball coach, and living a healthy lifestyle.  Now, for each role ask yourself these five “optimism screener” questions:  Can I:

1) Let go of a negative in a few minutes,

2) Almost always focus on something controllable,

3) Stay in the “creative zone,

4) Be excited about trying out a new idea, and

5) Focus on the next step and not on how others will view success or failure.

Learning to assess and bridge the “time gap” will be the subject of another post.

To begin to learn how to bridge these “life role gaps” in optimism scroll through ten or more of the three hundred plus articles that now exist in “Moment-to-Moment Optimism.”  Don’t want to scroll?  Click on the “search” option and enter a term such as “relationships.”



Chilean Miner Optimism

Last week I wrote about possible lessons of optimism to be learned from the "good news" disaster story of 33 Chilean miners found alive. In that post, I suggested nine strategies of “skilled” optimism to deal with the reality of waiting until Christmas to be rescued from their cell 2,257 feet below ground.

These strategies were: Setting clear expectations, using moment-to-moment survival tactics, structuring-up the days, regular family contact, thinking outside the box, getting through the day, meal planning, and finding ways to feel useful and productive.

Boring!!!

Nevertheless, it is hard to imagine sitting in an underground cell, even one the size of a cavern, with only artificial light, a twice a week phone/video chat with family, card games, some books to read and even some kind of internet access for 120 days and nights without going “stark raving mad.”  Just filling the time with interesting activities may not be enough to sustain optimism or sanity under these conditions.

What is a Gift of Optimism?

I asked someone recently:  If someone were to give you a “Gift of Optimism,” what might such a gift be.  She replied: “A positive outlook.”  I agreed that would be a nice gift, but not enough to sustain these miners till Christmas.

You might ask: “What if a miner hears that his wife gave birth to their 1^st child with even a video clip of mother and baby; isn’t that a gift of optimism?”  I would answer: "No, that is a gift of JOY.”  Such news could even lead to negative feelings associated with not being able to be there now or in the near future; an unintended gift of pessimism.

The miners have already received the Gift of HOPE when they were found alive and well 17 days after their entrapment.

Can a Negative Event be a Gift of Optimism?

Yes. Sometimes a negative event can be a gift of optimism as when Michael J. Fox made his Parkinson’s disease the beginning of a new calling in life.  I suggested in last week’s post that the miners be told the “downside” of the time parameters of their rescue.  The most often time frame mentioned is four months.  Some experts have suggested it could be done in thirty days.  Giving the miners some kind of reasonable expectation for time to rescue will avoid false expectations and the onset of irritability, mistrust and even pessimism.

A Real Gift of Optimism – The Chance to Be Productive!

In my final suggestion for Chilean Miner Optimism from last week’s post, I reminded the readers that “these guys have been, and can continue to be, resourceful." The GIFT OF OPTIMISM now delivered is the chance to be productive and to be able to take “round the clock” meaningful action on behalf of their own rescue.

Turns out the rescue tunnel has begun with a 6 inch diameter shaft that will have to be gradually widened by at least 6 times that size.  As they drill these wider and wider passages, rock debris will fall into the miner’s cavern and will need to be cleared away for more to fall.  The miners will need to form round the clock shifts to complete this task.  Now, they will not just be “passing time” waiting for rescue, they have a chance to play a part in the outcome of their destiny!!!

It is my belief that the greatest source of optimism is the chance to make a meaningful and productive contribution to one’s own growth and development, work, family, and/or community, and destiny.

If the miners are busy helping themselves, they become an active part of the solution and will have no problem knowing it might take till Christmas.  And, the faster and more efficiently they clear the rock debris the more likely it could be Thanksgiving or sooner.  WITH THIS GIFT, pessimism--even with their knowing how long it might take-- has been prevented.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Monday is Dr. Russ Busster Day.  It is the day I offer up TIPS to help BUSST-UP any pessimism you might face this week.  Everyday over the last week, the nightly news broadcasts have not let us forget that the five year anniversary one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States.  The media have also aired many resurrection and rebuilding stories honed from the optimism of “The Spirit of New Orleans.”

While the hurricane Katrina traveled slightly east of New Orleans on August 29, 2005 it was the storm surge and the subsequent breakdown of the levees and dykes that caused most of the damage.  Five years later, the rebuilding process goes on and the hope of rebirth and new beginnings is now replaced with the optimism of making these dreams come true.

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Dave Eggers, author of the national bestseller Zeitoun.  Zeitoun is the Katrina survival story of a Syrian man and his family who were then and continue to be residents of New Orleans.

While Zeitoun sent his wife and family out of state to the safety of relatives, he stayed behind to try to save the family home and business. While he was at it, he managed to rescue quite a few people and dogs that otherwise would have perished.

Zeitoun’s survival story, however, was not just about canoeing through the flooded streets doing good deeds. It is also about surviving the fear and pessimism that gripped the city and national news with ever more sensational stories: how the City of New Orleans had fallen into social chaos and was now at the mercy of rampant lawlessness - thieves, rapists, and murderers.

According to Eggers, the rumor, innuendo and vastly overblown negative stories led the authorities to believe that the New Orleans Convention Center contained over four hundred dead bodies.  At the time for evacuation of the Convention Center, 400 body bags were brought to the entrance.  Instead authorities found six corpses and one man who had shot himself in the foot with his own gun.

At the height of this mayhem mindset, Zeitoun and three of his friends were arrested in a house he owned and then taken to makeshift prisons; never receiving any normal due process rights.  Turns out, Zeitoun was a “skilled optimist” and with the help of his very assertive and driven wife, and a missionary who listened, Zeitoun was released after surviving three weeks in this Kafka-esque nightmare.

Dr. Russ Bussters from Eggers' Story of Zeitoun

1. There are two kinds of fear: REAL and MADE-UP.  Made-up fear is much worse; lets the imagination run rampant with pessimism, and leads to greater anxiety and beliefs about hopelessness and helplessness.
2. Real fear is almost always directly proportional to the inherent danger and usually leads us to take appropriate and rational action to overcome the impending peril.  On his first day canoeing the streets of his New Orleans neighborhood, Zeitoun heard a woman crying for help.   Upon further exploration, he found her in the second story of her home, head just above water up against the ceiling.  At 80 years old and weighing 200 pounds, he knew he couldn’t save her in his canoe.  After a brief search he found two men in a fishing boat willing to help. 
3. Made-up fear is almost always out of proportion to the reality of the danger; usually resulting in catastrophic thinking and an overestimation of alarm by two or ten times more than the reality.  Zeitoun, stranded in New Orleans without electricity or access to radio to TV news, had no idea how vastly exaggerated the fears of social breakdown had become.  All he could see was people trying to survive and help others.
4. After Zeitoun had saved the woman above along with five others that first day of canoeing, he felt empowered, that his life had some real purpose.  He stayed in the city to continue to help.  Zeitoun’s experience teaches us once again that optimism is enhanced in any given moment when we find a moment or two in a day to help another.
5. If we take time to listen, we learn.  A major theme of Dave Eggers lecture last evening was about how important it was for him to just listen to Zeitoun, Kathy his wife, and other players that had a role in the unfolding Katrina events as they told their story, their way without a lot of questioning, direction and redirection.

{Michigan State University and East Lansing, Michigan are featuring Dave Eggers, Zeitoun, in its “One Book, One Community” annual program that encourages, “the city-university community to come together and discuss” the book in a variety of settings over the course of the next month.  For more about the scheduled events click on: Zeitoun.}



Tilt-o-Whirl of emotions and another closed door

It appears my emotions go in cycles.  This could simply be just that they do in fact go in cycles, or it could be because when one has been at a job search or difficult task for this long, every emotion known to modern man has been felt so they inevitably have to repeat themselves!  Perhaps that latter is more plausible.  

The job that I spoke of last week has been taken.  I was unaware that when I had submitted my resume somebody had already been extended an offer.  I wish they would have told me that an offer had been extended, and if that offer was declined I would be progressed further, but that wasn’t the case. I guess that is fine, it’s not my business. The HR person was very polite though and sent me an email saying as much, which is more than I can say for most.  Why can’t they all be like this? This time the rejection was easier to handle.  It could be because I was late on getting my resume in to the HR department. It could be because I am getting thicker skin.   Why it is different in my head this time, I do not know; but it’s easier to handle so I am going to just go with it. 

Working with at least one “definite”

I am thinking again about moving out of town. It’s like I am an apprehensive early pioneer, contemplating the move westward to “success” over and over. Just do it, or don’t Nurmi; for goodness sake!  One thing is certain; I am moving out of my current townhouse no later than April 15^th of 2011, so it really starts me thinking about the possibility of leaving Lansing once again.  I have been facing that my current townhouse lease will be ending on April 15^th of 2011, though this certainly left some open options and I had not chosen any of them thus, leaving things wide open.  This week I have chosen, and signed a contract that I will move out when that time comes.

I am not sure where I am going to go at that point, whether it is stay here in Lansing, or once I am moving, just leaving the area all together.  It would make little sense to move into a new place here in Lansing and then leave town months later; I am not a Bedouin nomad! If I am making a move, I might as well make it somewhere that is going to have a reasonable amount of longevity. 

The comfort and terror of deadlines

Day to day, nothing will change in my life until April, though emotionally I have a tangible end date to my living situation which adds the anxiety of a deadline. Deadlines always come rushing at me so fast. It’s like I am skydiving: if I am in the airplane I know I am going to do it but I am still in the plane. Once I jump, however, the ground is rushing at me over 120 mph and there is certainly and an “end point.” The sure-fire way to make time pass very quickly is to set a deadline.  I think, “What if I have no job and no place to go at that point? Oh my God, I am going to be homeless!!”  Well, this is not going to be the case. I am over dramatizing here, but you get the point.  I would never be homeless due to the fact that I am fortunate to have a great support system of family and friends.  I do not want to have to live with any of them though!

This week I have also sent a resume into a company for a job in the … let’s just say the real estate field for now.  I don’t want to get too much into the field of the job this week.  It would not be a long-term job; it would perhaps be a temporary financial move to get cash flow, which I have discussed before, of course.  I will keep you posted on what becomes of it.

How to focus the job search from here

So, we are back to the question of “Where?”  I am considering moving to Madison Heights where I know someone who is looking for a roommate.  The question now is: do I go as early as the first of the year? Should I focus exclusively on that area and let Lansing take 2^nd priority with regards to the job search efforts? If I “give up” on Lansing, I might as well move now; but if I keep the focus on Lansing I will not have things lined up for when I move! What came first, the chicken or the egg?!! 

I know that I do not have to make the decision to move this week, and I also know that the answers will become more clear within the coming weeks and short months until the end of this year (yes, I just said the end of the year!).  I suppose in a way I am excited about the fact that a year from now, I will look back and say, “Why was I worried?! Things turned out fine!”  I need to breathe and relax and see what comes of the close of 2010.

BN

William Henry Nurmi II has a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a MBA from the University of Phoenix. Bill has a background in operations management, logistics, and sales. Bill is an avid bicyclist and is a volunteer on the board of directors at the Mission of Hope Cancer Fund. He lives in Lansing, MI and is currently seeking new employment while serving as a Post-Graduate and Career Transition Fellow of Optimism with Moment-to-Moment Enterprises.  Bill’s Fellowship project entails writing about optimism and providing advice and consultation on marketing, sales, and new program development.  Today’s post is the thirty-sitxth in a series that Bill is writing under the title: “The Diary of a Struggling Optimist.”

Teach and Learn

A core tenant of Moment-to-Moment Optimism is that optimism is a skill that can be taught and learned.  As one learns and practices the skills of optimism over time, one becomes a better master of optimism known as a “Skilled Optimist.” 

Master vs. Skilled

Notice I do not use the term “Master Optimist;” that would imply one had reached a plateau, state of, or completion point in optimistic learning that had no further room for growth.  The term “Skilled Optimist” implies that one can keep practicing and developing more and more optimism skills over the course of an entire lifetime.

In the Home Beginning at Birth

Ideally the teaching of optimism skills begins at birth with something as simple as in-the-moment, parent responsiveness to the infant’s needs.  Parents, while continuing their lifetime learning quest to become better and better at their moment-to-moment optimism skills, can continue to teach optimism skills to their children throughout the child, adolescent and even young adult years.

In the Classroom and School Setting

Teachers can be taught to create a classroom culture for learning optimism that can not only enhance academic achievement, but optimize the development of the “whole” student.  School principals can provide leadership that builds a school-wide culture of optimism that is further supported by superintendent’s who spread that culture district wide.

In the Organization and Workplace

Finally, leaders, managers and organizations can create a culture of optimism in the workplace that supports every employee’s quest to become a skilled optimist and who then can make significant contributions to the accomplishment of organizational goals.

What is a "Skilled Optimist?"

Now you might be asking:  “Just what is the skill set of “Skilled Optimist?”  Listed below are eleven sub-skills of Skilled Optimism.  Note that I list eleven because if we only identified ten, then people would think “That’s it, only ten skills to learn.”  The number eleven is uneven and odd, one more that ten. To me, it implies we could identify more and more sub-skills over the course of time just as we find more and more species of plants and animals that have or currently inhabit the earth. 

Eleven Sub-skills of “Skilled Optimism”

A skilled optimist knows how to: 

1. let go of a negative or setback in a matter of moments
2. use failure and setbacks as opportunities to learn
3. identify and differentiate what can be controlled from what cannot be controlled
4. continually tap into their own “creative zone” to solve problems
5. assume the risk of failure inherent in taking on challenging tasks and goals
6. expect and plan ahead for obstacles and roadblocks
7. revise plans and expectations in light of obstacles encountered and experience of success and failure
8. seek out promising new opportunities
9. get inspiration and help from others
10. stay focused on the process and “next steps” of goal accomplishment
11. continuously self-monitor the presence or absence of a positive view in any given moment

Eight Steps you can take TODAY to improve your "skilled optimism" and the "skilled optimism" of others:

1. Look over the above list and check at least three sub-skills that you would like to improve on over the next few months.
2. If married or living with a significant other, ask him or her to the same.
3. If you have children, identify one sub-skill you would like to try to help them learn and practice at this time; then go to others over time.
4. If you are a teacher, teach one skill a month to your class for the next nine months (to cover all 11, teach two skills in November and March).
5. If you are an employee in an organization, focus on what you can do moment-to-moment and day-to-day to practice skilled optimism in the workplace.
6. Then, share this list with a work colleague or two and commit to working together and helping each work on one skill at a time.
7. If you are a supervisor, manager or leader in the organization examine the list and identify some areas that the organization might improve upon to support a climate for continuous learning of skilled optimism in the workplace.
8. MOST IMPORTANT: If you do nothing else, POST THE LIST OF ELEVEN SUB-SKILLS on your refrigerator, classroom bulletin board, desk at work, or other prominent place that you can refer to in any given moment.

P.S. If you are interested in learning about our "Organizational Optimism Program" (which includes assessment, training and ongoing consultation), please send an inquiry via e-mail to drruss@drrussbuss.com

There are no silver bullets--only hard work, accountability, and consistency. 

We are watching Chile as we now have some “good” disaster news for a change.  But, how quickly our joy and hope could be dashed by the reality of the difficulties these copper miners face deep underground for the next four months as they wait for a final rescue.  There is a need for optimism to manage this reality.

Key Facts of Chilean Mining Disaster

• All 33 Chilean copper miners found alive after 17 days
• 2,257 vertical feet (688 meters) down
• In a mine shaft shelter the size of a small apartment
• Known to have deep underground water deposits and ventilation shafts, but thought to have only 48 hours worth of oxygen
• Inaccurate maps of the mine made it difficult to find them and many probes were tried until successful on 17th day
• Now they may have to wait 4 months to be rescued and brought above ground
• Already trapped underground longer than a few in recent history, e.g., miners were rescued in China within the last year after 25 days and in 1983 after 23 days; few other rescues have lasted more than two weeks
• The successful “probe” is six inches in diameter and is being used to lower food, water, medicine, audio and video communication equipment in small capsules
• During the 17 day ordeal Miners made a make shift refuge by using a bulldozer to dig a canal of fresh water and then used a truck engine to rig up a lighting system.

Why Joy, Hope and Reality Must Give Way to the Need for Optimism

Joy:  The joy of finding all 33 miners alive and so far well was expressed by President Sebastian Pinera said upon learning the incredible news on Sunday, August 22, 2010, "Today all of Chile is crying with excitement and joy." Further joy was expressed as the vigil of authorities, friends and relatives of the miners hugged, climbed a nearby hill, planted 33 flags while singing the Chilean national anthem.

Hope: Hope prevailed as the rescue team drilled seven, 2,300 foot, six inch probes, before hitting “pay dirt” on the eighth try.  Hope was all the rescue team had as they kept trying for seventeen days even thought they believed the maximum air and water the miners might have found would run out in 48 hours.  Now that the miners have been found they have hope that they will be rescued.  However, such hope must be tempered by the news that it will take four months to dig a 27 inch hole that deep, through which the miners can be brought to ground level.

Reality:  Now that the miners have been found; they must be rescued.  We are told that the rescue operation will take four months.  That means they might just be out by Christmas.  Right now the miners are just relieved to have been found and to know that they will bet their basic needs for air, water, food and medicine met.  But the joy and hope of being found will soon give way to the psychological reality that four months underground with 33 other men in a room the size of a small apartment is a long, long, long time.  Some mental health professionals have already begun to speculate about how long it will take for someone below the earth to say: “Get me out here right now.  I can’t take it anymore.”  The worst case scenario would be a breakdown in the under-earth-social-structure equivalent to “Lord of the Flies.”

Optimism: Neither joy nor hope will provide the mental stamina to deal with the “reality” nor the “worst case scenario” described above.  Only OPTIMISM will carry the miners through to the end of the ordeal.  Joy is a fleeting emotion; can only be sustained for a few moments or more.  While hope “springs eternal,” it is more like the popular geyser Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park that shoots off for a moment or two and then retreats lacking energy for sustainability and endurance than like the Empire State Building in NYC a constant reminder of the rewards of toil, hard work, and self-determination.

Optimism provides the mental infra-structure and I-beam like brain neuron support for accomplishing the goals spawned of hope.  Here are some suggestions to encourage, foster and maintain the optimism of these miners so they can be rescued alive and well, physically and mentally, while enduring the next four months.

1. Clear expectations.  Although hard to “swallow” right now the miners will be better served to know it will be four months before they get out.
2. Survival Strategies:  After adjusting to the four month expectation, the focus can shift to giving the miners strategies to get through each day (see items 4-7 below).
3. Structure:  It might be helpful for the miners to elect a spokesperson for the group who could gather and communicate about problems and needs.  Some sort of formal leadership structure may already be in the form of a foreman or team leader which could be taken advantage of.  Likely some informal leadership structures have developed over 17 days of survival so far. 
4. Family communication:  Apparently a communication cable with audio and video capabilities has already been dropped down the six inch probe. If this is the only communication channel, then a schedule could be set up for each miner to have 10 to 15 minutes per day of personal communication time with friends and family.
5. Think Outside the Box:  Perhaps someone has already thought of it, but it strikes me that some company like Apple or Verizon could donate 33 internet capable phones that could be dropped down one by one through the probe. A “hard line” cable connection could provide the “to-above-ground” link to the satellite in the sky.  Each miner could then search the net at their leisure and talk to friends and family about anytime.  I am not technologically sophisticated enough to know what the reality of this idea is.  But, I sure think it would be worth some thought.
6. More Outside the box:  Provide each miner with an MP3 player fully loaded with all kinds of music, audio books, and other recordings.  Add in a hand held video game playing device.  Be sure to include a charger.
7. Getting through the day:  a) Paper back books could easily fit into the capsules used to drop items down to the miners.  Survey their reading interests and fill the capsules; b) pocket size workbooks of puzzles and games; c) several decks of playing cards could also be useful.
8. Meal Expectations:  Do not promise steak, lobster or shrimp.  Tell it like it is and let them know it will be 120 days of astronaut food.  Identification with space or submarine travel might be a useful metaphor.
9. Remember – these guys are resourceful.  They already demonstrated their “Little Engine that Could” style of optimism by surviving 17 days and bulldozing a deep underground water trough.  Any ideas that can help these miners feel useful and like they are solving some problems will take advantage of this resource and maintain their optimism.

Monday is Dr. Russ Busster Day, the day I offer up TIPS to BUSST-UP any pessimism facing you this week.  One of the Dr. Russ Buss core principles of optimism is:  Optimists seek and search for information daily for information and stories to help maintain an optimistic outlook.

One of our readers came up with this idea to find inspiration for daily optimism.  Google the date--sans the year--for any given day.  It could be today or several days in the future.  For today, you would Google “August 23.”  The search will lead you to all kinds of historical events, birth dates of famous people, and special celebrations occurring on that day.  Scan through the listings and identify 1 to 5 inspirational ideas, events, people or thoughts to fire up your day and perhaps the entire week.  Even better, write the key idea on a 3 x 5 card or “post-it-note” and display on your desk, refrigerator, or bathroom mirror.

I used this approach today.  Here are my five Dr. Russ Bussters for the week:  

Busster One: 130 days left before the end of the year. Such a realization could lead to either optimism or pessimism.  Pessimism: “Oh, my gosh, I will never accomplish all my annual goals in the time available.”  Optimism: “Now I have some needed focus.  Time to asses my goal accomplishments so far this year and then re-prioritize and reframe remaining goals.  Cull out the least important, and focus on what I believe I can control.”

Busster Two: Today is the International Day for Remembrance of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its Abolition.  I didn’t know this until I found it in my search.  The celebration of this day reminds me that no matter how slow and no matter how many setbacks there are, have been, and continue to be, we humans are making progress in our approach to caring about “humanity.” 

Busster Three: On this day in 1966, the Lunar Orbiter 1 took the first photograph of the Earth from a lunar perspective.  Pictures of earth floating in space have become so commonplace that I had forgotten how really recently we even had such an image.  Thinking about or looking at such a picture inspires my optimism as I think about the incredible and awesome nature of the Universe--all we know and don’t know about it.    

Busster Four: Start of College and Professional Football Season.  Whatever your passion for sport, each has its own season.  Baseball, America’s pastime of yesteryear, has given way to American Football.  As opening day of any sport season approaches we can get excited about it if that is our sport of passion.  Currently, Americans seem to have a passion about football.  For those with even a mild to moderate passion for football, watching the game at home or live on Saturday and Sunday each fall weekend gives us something to look forward to during the week and to talk about the following week.  Now we get games on Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights as well.  Football also brings with it more social planning and activities that other sports as we plan for tailgates and visits from out of town guests that make it a whole day or even weekend of fun and frivolity.

Busster Five: Actor, singer and dancer Gene Kelly was born on this date in 1912.  When looking for inspiration for optimism, I always try to find at least one famous individual from the past or present that might kick-off an optimistic thought or two.  Gene Kelly was always one of my favorite classic stars of stage and screen.  He is an idol of mine since he was a “hoofer,” and tap dance is one of my passions.  But, my most optimistic memory of Gene Kelly is his stage and movie rendition of “Singing in the Rain.”

Grand Self-Created Buster: Use this daily Google search process to create your own Dr. Russ Bussters for any given day or week.

The Struggling Optimist has Returned

I am back at it, here in beautiful Lansing trying to find the job that is right.  I have to admit, I am not as recharged as I thought I would be after being out of the action for a little while.  I am feeling burned out and cynical still.  The hurry up and wait game that I was referring to a few weeks back is finally over though, and like most times in my life when I begin to freak out, it was not necessary, and things worked out just fine. 

The Role of Worry

Sometimes I think about this fact that things seem to work out ok, for the most part, and I say I should stop worrying so much.  On the other hand I think that if I stop worrying things will not work out and I will be blindsided by life on life’s terms. For now I will keep worrying like I do because it’s working. It may not be comfortable all the time, but things are turning out ok and I am afraid to mess with that formula.

If I stop worrying about things will I become complacent and allow things to slip through the cracks so to speak? Maybe, maybe not. Why does it need to be all or nothing with me anyway?  Can’t I just worry when I should and move on when I should?  This is something that I have always struggled with.  Progress not perfection Nurmi; just keep telling yourself that.

Self-Recrimination and Self Doubt Make for a Daily Struggle

I’m busy, I am getting things done, but I am not out networking with the spirit and tenacity that I need right now. I have mentioned this before and this is problematic because it’s a costly statement to have to make.  I hate to beat a dead horse here by mentioning some of the same things that I mentioned last time, but I have not gained the ground that I need to in order to correct my issues in this department.

Where did this expression come from anyway? Why would someone beat any horse at all, dead or alive? 

Anyway, I am having trouble shaking this cynical attitude which really is pessimism if I break it down, and not good.  I have spent a little time this week speaking with Dr. Russ and some other trusted friends and that has helped some. I will keep you posted next week on whether I have made progress in this area. 

Opportunity Inspired Hope

There has been an opportunity that has come up where I have submitted a resume! It’s at a well known Lansing company that has been family owned and in town for many, many years. I am excited for the opportunity to perhaps get an interview. I am not sure yet what will come of it, and am trying to keep my head in the right place as not to be really let down if I do not even get an interview. 

The Value of Friends, Colleagues and Networks

It is an opportunity that I would have likely missed if I were looking for a job strictly on my own; this is the power of networking.  A friend who has been invaluable in my job search efforts thus far told me about the posting and whom to address my resume to.  I have met this individual that I sent the resume to before but due to me not being in Michigan at the time of the posting I would have missed it if not for this friend’s keen eye.  It’s great to have eyes and ears other than one’s own.  It’s tough out there right now and any and all help is always welcomed, for this I am grateful.

I was at first worried that I had not heard anything at all yet on the resume I just spoke of above, though I have received email confirmation that no considerations will be made until after the 23^rd of this month.  Whew! I can at least rest at ease for a few more days without needing to worry about those familiar feelings of rejection, which I am not so good at handling.

The Struggle Continues

Overall as I reflect back on the week, I am feeling better now than I was at the beginning of it, that’s for sure. When I began to think about this week’s column a few days ago I was worried about sounding like a total kill joy and boring everybody to death!  I was worried that my melancholy words would come across to everybody like the teacher on Charlie Brown! Everybody would be sick of hearing me complain! Things are going to be ok though, I no longer have to worry about coming across like a fictional comic character that doesn’t even have a lead role in the comic for goodness sake!  Until next time.

BN