<p>Being an optimist almost always provides you only with advantages.  Including in the financial field. While you might be facing lots of stressful days, as we all do, there is certainly room for more optimism, financially speaking. For instance, a good start could be to focus on actions that lead to the improvement of your financial health, rather than on how bad your financial reality looks like. </p>


Being an optimist 

<p>When living your life, you should definitely consider enjoying the small things. This applies to the financial field too: learn how to enjoy and celebrate every small win, as this will eventually lead to the great wins. </p>


Enjoy the small joys in life

<p>Throughout your life, you are bound to live some pretty frustrating moments, such as the one when you lose a job. The most important is that, when this happens, you do not lose yourself too. Remember that setbacks are only temporary and you can always find a solution to improve your situation. </p>


Do not take setbacks too seriously

<p>In almost all aspect of our lives, optimism rocks. And so do optimists. This is why is important to surround yourself with optimist people, who share your perception of things, including when it comes to finances.</p>


Optimism rocks

<img width="705" height="470" src="https://www.success.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Greener-Pastures-1024x682.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.success.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Greener-Pastures-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://www.success.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Greener-Pastures-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.success.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Greener-Pastures-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.success.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Greener-Pastures-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.success.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Greener-Pastures.jpg 1100w"><p>Being an optimist pays, both mentally and financially. According to recent research, optimists practice healthier financial habits than pessimists—although nearly two-thirds of optimists have started building an emergency fund, less than half of pessimists have done the same.</p><p>Optimists are also more likely to enjoy greater career gains, with a higher likelihood of making more money. On top of that, optimists report feeling significantly less stressed about their finances. But how do you cultivate financial optimism when managing stressful realities?</p><p>Financial optimism isn’t about ignoring challenges. It’s about believing you have the ability to face those challenges head on and improve your finances in spite of them.</p><p>Here’s how you can start cultivating optimism in your own financial life.</p><h3><a href="https://www.success.com/how-to-cultivate-a-growth-mindset/">Adopt a growth mindset.</a></h3><p>Instead of thinking about your financial circumstances as fixed conditions you can’t change, think instead about the actions you can take to improve your financial health. Every moment offers an opportunity to choose new and better financial behaviors.</p><p>Even if your financial reality looks like a lot of debt, for example, you can still start practicing positive financial behaviors like reviewing your statements and spending each week.</p><h3>Celebrate small wins.</h3><p>Although reviewing your statements and spending each week might not solve all of your financial struggles overnight, it’s important to recognize these positive financial habits and celebrate the small wins they enable.</p><p>Even if it’s as simple as paying your credit card bill on time each month or socking away $5 in a savings account each week, small wins can help propel you to big wins over time, which gets your brain to start focusing on progress rather than perfection.</p><h3>Think of setbacks as being temporary.</h3><p>Cultivating financial optimism requires you to acknowledge that setbacks are temporary. This can be particularly challenging in the face of major blows like losing your job.</p><p>Challenges that feel insurmountable in the moment will start to feel more manageable when you consider them temporary blips—especially when you pair them with the celebration of small wins along the way.</p><h3><a href="https://www.success.com/positive-influencers/">Surround yourself with optimists.</a></h3><p>If you’ve committed to practicing an optimistic financial outlook and your immediate social circle does not share that same commitment, it’s going to be substantially more difficult for you to follow through.</p><p>This doesn’t mean you have to abandon your friends and family members who succumb to financial pessimism. It just means that as you grow, you should start making a conscious effort to surround yourself with people who understand and support the financially optimistic path you’re on.</p><p dir="ltr"><em dir="ltr">This article originally appeared in the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="March/April 2020 issue of SUCCESS magazine (opens in a new tab)" href="https://store.success.com/patchworks-imported-products/success-magazine-march-april-2020.html" dir="ltr">March/April 2020 issue of SUCCESS magazine</a>.</em><br dir="ltr"><em dir="ltr">Photo by Dasha Pats/Twenty20.com</em></p><img src="https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/8e8bbe813b3982736570f5c8ce017ecc?s=150&amp;d=blank&amp;r=g" width="150" height="150" alt="Avatar">

Financial optimism isn’t about ignoring challenges. It’s about believing you have the ability to face those challenges head on and improve your finances in…

How to Become a Financial Optimist

Being an optimist

Enjoy the small joys in life

Do not take setbacks too seriously

Optimism rocks

Lilliana W.'s ideas are part of this journey:

Related collections

Similar ideas