Journalist Michele Norris once described President Obama this way: “Optimism is Obama’s natural resting state.”
That phrase sticks with me. What would it mean for our natural resting state to be optimism? Not constant cheerfulness. Not denial. But a quiet, internal belief that things are workable. That you can influence outcomes. That challenges can be navigated rather than feared.
I’ve thought about this often over the past year. Last winter, I took a bad fall and suffered a concussion—the kind that forced me off the field for a while. What helped me recover wasn’t positivity; it was the belief that if I did the work, listened to professional advice, and stayed committed, I could influence the outcome. It was optimism mixed with determination—and, yes, some healthy fear of lifelong regret—that carried me through.
Maybe that’s why Norris’s comment resonates so deeply now. I needed optimism to be my natural resting state.
What Does Optimism Mean to You?
When you hear the word optimism, what comes up? Sunshine? Forced positivity? Or perhaps a quiet belief that things can get better—even if you’re not sure how yet?
We’ve all experienced blind optimism—the belief that everything will be fine simply because we want it to be. It feels exciting but collapses under pressure. In business, blind optimism can keep us from seeing risks or preparing for challenges.
Junot Díaz once said, “What I am trying to cultivate is not blind optimism, but radical hope.” Whether you call it hope or optimism, I love the word cultivate. Cultivation isn’t passive. You don’t wake up with a full-grown garden. You put in time, attention, pruning, and patience.
So how do you find optimism—especially when it feels out of reach?
Maybe the question isn’t whether the glass is half full or half empty, but this: What are you willing to imagine is possible?
Sometimes that imagining takes work. Sometimes it takes support. I think radical hope fits in here.
Have you ever tried to be optimistic and just couldn’t? Maybe the setbacks piled up, a project dragged on, or burnout crept in. And yet—sometimes optimism returns after a shift in perspective, a conversation, a small action, or permission to hope again.
I experienced that return just last week. I went into New York City for lunch with a former client and dear friend. She’s in her 80s, thriving as a profitable artist, and has found a new companion to share her life with. It’s rare for me to go in to the city alone but It was totally worth the effort. One day. One conversation. One reminder that possibilities continue to unfold.
Sensible Optimism vs. Blind Optimism
Think back to a moment when you relied on blind optimism—launching a new program, pivoting your business, starting something bold. At first the excitement carried you. Then reality showed up: delays, expenses, difficult customers, a thousand small challenges.
Morgan Housel, author of The Psychology of Money, offers a perspective that reframes optimism beautifully:
“Sensible optimism is a belief that the odds are in your favor, and over time, things will balance out to a good outcome even if what happens in between is filled with misery… Those two things are not mutually exclusive.”
Blind optimism struggles when obstacles arise. Sensible optimism says:
“Things might be hard, messy, unpredictable—and I still believe the long-term outcome will be worth it.”
It doesn’t require denial. It simply asks you to place more weight on possibility than fear.
And in business, sensible optimism is essential. It keeps you refining a strategy, nurturing a lead, improving a process, or adjusting your approach—even when results aren’t immediate.
You’ve probably held both kinds of optimism. Blind optimism early in a dream. Measured optimism when you expected the bumps and believed the destination mattered anyway. That shift—from blind belief to earned optimism—is the result of experience and persistence.
How to Find Optimism When You’ve Lost It
Understanding your emotional resting state isn’t just self-awareness—it’s strategy. As a business owner or leader, your outlook sets the tone for your team, your clients, your decisions, and your well-being.
Optimism is often a practice, not a feeling. When you don’t feel it naturally, you can still cultivate it:
1. Name what’s working, not just what’s broken.
Our brains spotlight problems. Balancing the picture brings clarity and hope.
2. Zoom out.
A wider lens often reveals progress we’ve forgotten.
3. Then zoom in and take one small action.
Movement creates momentum. Momentum supports optimism.
4. Build a Starburst Network.
That's my term for an advisory circle of people with clear eyes and open minds whose perspectives
you can borrow when yours is shaky.
5. Expect challenges, but don’t let them define the story.
Obstacles are data. Data helps you replot your course.
6. Allow yourself to imagine success—
even if the path isn’t clear yet.
Why Optimism Matters in Business
Optimism isn’t just a personality trait. It’s a strategic asset. It influences how you respond to uncertainty, how you lead, how you sell, and how you make decisions. It shapes the energy your clients and team feel from you. Most importantly, it helps you take consistent action.
Optimism doesn’t require confidence at every moment. It simply requires choosing possibility over paralysis.
Final Thought: Optimism Is Expecting a Good Turnout—Eventually
You can cultivate optimism—slowly, intentionally, realistically. The more you practice it, the more it becomes your default way of interpreting challenges.
Optimism isn’t pretending things are easy. It’s believing you can navigate them even when they’re not. It’s trusting that if you do the next right thing—especially after a questionable decision—the path will bend toward the good.
That belief—steady, earned, sensible optimism—may be the most powerful tool you bring to your business and your life.
It certainly carried me through my recovery to the feeling I had just a few days ago: I think I’m in a new version of all right. I am grateful. And I wish that for all of you.
Lorette Pruden has helped hundreds of small business owners, sales professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders grow their businesses and manage that growth since 2000. She specializes in the Formerly Corporate—so many small business owners who’ve worked with her come from a corporate background that she finally wrote the book on it.
