Unlock Your Positive Thinking With The Optimist Creed

An optimist is “a person who tends to be hopeful and confident about the future or the success of something.”

A creed is “a set of beliefs or aims which guide someone’s actions.”

That’s why I think that The Optimist Creed is a guide to unlocking your positive thinking.

Even though we all know that there is nothing magical about optimism, there is significant research showing that positive thinking has great benefits in all areas of life. And well, that’s much more than we can say about being a pessimist.

There are many misconceptions about optimism. An optimist is not one who ignores reality, but rather makes the best of it. 

Being an optimist means you practice positive thinking in a way that leads to positive action. That’s why The Optimist Creed can be so effective in improving your life.

The Optimist Creed is a fantastic collection of “positive agreements,” which was originally published in 1912 – over 100 years ago!!! – by Christian D. Larson in the book “Your Forces And How To Use Them.”

I first had exposure to The Optimist Creed in my native tongue, Spanish, when I was in 9th grade.

Those were dark days in my life, because I had already been through so much and my parents’ divorce hit me so hard that I lost hope, faith, and even my desire to live.

I was collecting positive quotes and sayings to keep me grounded, to help me cope, and to give me a sense of purpose. The Optimist Creed was life-changing.

I am trying to convey that, if The Optimist Creed actually helped me become more positive, grateful, and optimistic in what felt like a hopeless situation, it can work for anyone. It can work for you!

Unlock Your Positive Thinking With The Optimist Creed

Someone once said: “Promises are like babies: easy to make, hard to deliver.” This is almost funny and sometimes true. 

The Optimist Creed is a positive thinking tool that consists of 12 promises you will make to yourself about things you almost and sometimes have control of. 

These promises are life-transforming, even when you don’t keep them perfectly, because they will help you live with intention and make gradual and conscious changes that will change your life for the better.

Here it goes:

The Optimist Creed

Promise yourself:

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.

To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

I have not mastered these promises and I don’t know anyone who has, but the good thing is that mastery is not required. 

The Optimist Creed is more of a guide to remind you the kind of person you want to be, while giving yourself plenty of space, time, and grace in the process.

If you set out to follow The Optimist Creed perfectly, it will induce guilt, shame, and a sense of failure, which will make it counter-productive. 

Decide right now that you will be kind to yourself as you commit to this process!

Unlocking your positive thinking powers can bring positive energy, healing, hope, and happiness into your life, and The Optimist Creed can help. Let’s break it down!

As you wake up every day and  “promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind,” realize that your inner peace will be tried and tested many times this day.

You will need strength – even supernatural strength – to deal with the chaos and craziness of motherhood alone.

Make a list of what makes you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually strong, and make that a priority, so you can feel more peace.

PEACE is my word of the year this year and I’ve been learning that it is not my environment that needs to change (in fact, it has changed in ways that I did not ask for), but it is my attitude, my expectations, and my boundaries that needed changing.

When you “promise yourself to talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet,” you are deciding to think before you speak. This one is so hard for me as a talker, a writer, a storyteller, and a lover of truth.

Talking health doesn’t mean you don’t acknowledge your desire to heal. 

Talking happiness doesn’t mean you don’t validate your suffering.

Talking prosperity doesn’t mean you are in denial about your needs. 

Our words have great power and can shape our world. Take a look at this:

I am stuck at home  vs. I am safe at home

Read my list of positive words from A to Z and choose a few words you will start incorporating into your vocabulary. I also have a list of negative words you could ban to have a better life and quotes about why gossip is poisonous!

Gratitude is the birthplace of joy!

When you “promise yourself to make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them,” you are setting an intention to not only genuinely praise people, but also to be present with them.

Who do you know that needs some encouragement right now? Would you be willing to reach out and attempt to “make their day”?

My dad taught me this principle by example. When people come in contact with him, they always have his full attention and leave his presence happier than they were when they came in.

What does it mean to “promise yourself to look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true“?

It means that a true optimist looks at the bright side of every life event, but not exclusively. It means to look at both sides when adversity, pain, heartache, hardship, and trials are the only things we see around us.

What is something that causes you pain right now? Think of ways that you can find an aspect of it that maybe isn’t “so bad” or that you could even be grateful for.

Your optimism comes true when you are realistic in your thinking and remind yourself that just like everything positive has a negative, every negative has a positive.

If you “promise yourself to think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best,” you are deciding to live with purpose.

Write down what occupies your mind often, and reflect on how you can improve your work ethic. How are these related to the results you expect? 

Thinking only of the best requires self-love and a healthy sense of deserving.

Working only for the best requires integrity, consistency, and focus.

Expecting only the best requires faith.

“Promise yourself to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own,” because it is your own.

Read John 21: 20-22 in the New Testament of the Bible and reflect on the question “What is that to you?”

I have taught my daughters to celebrate the success of other people and to be happy for other people’s blessings. It’s a wonderful feeling, especially in contrast with the feelings of jealousy and envy, which are damaging for all involved.

Do you think it’s practical to “promise yourself to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements of the future“?

Surely you will not forget your past mistakes, because they’re part of who you are, but what you can do is decide you won’t act like the person that made those mistakes.

Draw a line in the middle of a sheet of paper. In the left column, write your worst mistakes, and on the right, write what you learned. Set out to live like the person who learned those lessons today!

Resolve that you will press on to greater pursuits, those which make you feel accomplished, helpful, and valuable, so you can be happier!

If you’re thinking you can’t possibly “promise yourself to wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet,” because life is hard and some people are ..um.. grumps, I get it.

Take at least one minute every morning and smile at the mirror. Then remind yourself that you can smile for no reason, and try to practice it throughout the day – maybe because your cheeks hurt!

A lot of people tell me that I smile so much and I always look so happy that they’d never guess what I’ve been through or what I’m going through.

My smile is not a deceitful mechanism, it’s a note to self that there is always something to be grateful for, no matter how tough the times may be.

I encourage you to “promise yourself to give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.”

Think of the last person you judged, criticized, or condemned. You could try to do The Work to release those resentments. How can you improve yourself in the ways that you criticized that person?

I know I’m not probably the only mom who has yelled at her kids “Stop yelling!” I’ve realized that there are many things I don’t tolerate in others because I must change them in myself – and the best project I can work on is “me.”

It may seem that as you “promise yourself to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble,” you are setting yourself to fail. But not necessarily…

Think back to the last time you felt angry, anxious, and afraid. How much was imagined? How much of it was a trigger of the past? How much of it was justified?

Yes, we all become worried, scared, and enraged, and these emotions are all valid. What this promise helps us do is sort out, examine, and get past those emotions with consciousness and truth.

Will you “promise yourself to think well of yourself and proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds“? 

Ask the people who truly know you what positive traits they see in you. Is the list what you want to be said about you? 

You don’t have to go around telling others who you are – they already know. We all need improvement in some areas of our life, but chances are you don’t give yourself enough credit.

And lastly, promise yourself to live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

An optimist believes that everything happens for a reason – for a good reason.

Write a list of the most trying life events you’ve survived and, for each, write at least one way in which you grew closer into the person you want to be, as a direct result of it.

I have felt like I’m alone in the world and that everything and everyone is against me, but as I strive to see that everything works together for my highest good, I ground myself and choose to trust the process.

I love this creed so much and I want you to have it handy!

I made a printable PDF of The Optimist Creed so you can download it for FREE. You don’t need to give me your email address – or anything else – in return.

DOWNLOAD The Optimist Creed PDF here

What do you Promise Yourself?

And I also made a printable PDF of my very own I promise Myself prompts, absolutely FREE for you, too.

Whether you follow The Optimist Creed or not, you are always making promises to yourself; some harmful, some helpful.

I encourage you to consciously make promises to yourself that align with your Divine Destiny – and this tool will be your best friend in doing just that.

I was inspired to create this tool during one of my programs and many of my students experienced great breakthroughs by using it consistently. You can too!

The optimistic promises you make yourself have the potential to heal your family line and bless your posterity and this will just take a few minutes every day.

Download my FREE “I promise Myself” prompts HERE.

Enjoy!

Are you ready to unlock your positive thinking with The Optimist Creed? Share what promises you’re making yourself below.

Founder of the Positive MOM® and creator of the S.T.O.R.Y. System: a blueprint to craft and share powerful stories that will transform your results and help others do the same. Dr. Elayna Fernández is a single mom of 4, an award-winning Storyteller, Story Strategist, and Student of Pain. She’s a bestselling author, internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, and 5x TEDx speaker. She has spoken at the United Nations, received the President’s Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award, and was selected as one of the Top Impactful Leaders and a Woman of Influence by SUCCESS Magazine. Connect with Elayna at thepositivemom.com/ef and follow @thepositivemom. To receive a gift from Elayna, click HERE.

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