6. OPTIMISM – The Optimism of Helen Keller
AFTERWORD Helen always focused her mind on happiness and the good things coming up. More than that, she inspired the world with her cour- age by doing things others thought impossible: from learning to read with her fingers to graduating college with honors. With every- one she met, she was a booster who made friends easily and was easy on them. This was her inborn outgoingness , a trait you have as well. Because of her natural characteristic of knowledge , it was important to Helen to continually accumulate information about the world around her. This was made possible by her innate abil- ity to communicate with anyone and get her ideas across to others. Perhaps most importantly, her ability to see things from a differ- ent perspective and think in new combinations – her imagination – helped her succeed. Without a doubt, you can find other genius traits in her story: drive , curiosity , and more. In the next story, you will learn more about the ability to judge – a willingness to under- stand the facts of a situation before making a decision. Using this trait, Helen better understood all that she learned.
“ Choose to be optimistic. It feels better.”
– Dalai Lama
TO BE A GENIUS How did optimism help Helen succeed despite her challenges? Why was it important to Helen to focus on good things in her future? What have been your biggest successes in life? What important activities are you involved in currently? What are the best possible outcomes for these activities? Envision success for yourself and others. Success is a happiness generator and fuels drive — the energy and determination you have to achieve things.
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