Last week in Lesson 1, we talked about our internal dialogue, and how to talk to ourselves with love no matter the situation. We wrote a long list of our best qualities and tried to focus on them.

This week, I’d like you to switch gears a bit and think of something in your past that was negative—when things really fell apart around you. You got fired, you got divorced, you lost a friend…just a life event that’s universally regarded as bad news.

Can you think of anything good in that situation?

Were there any silver linings? Really dig to find anything positive in your scenario, or in the fallout, that turned out being not so horrible.

What did you learn from the experience?
How did it cause you to grow?
What would you do differently if it happened now?
How did the universe conspire in your favor?
How was it exactly the perfect thing to have happened in your life, knowing what you know now?
How did it contribute to making you the beautiful, talented, amazing woman you are today?

Optimism means you focus on gleaning lessons from difficult experiences, and this mindset really helps with perspective. Plus, adopting an optimistic approach to yourself just feels damn better and gets you to your dreams and goals a heck of a lot faster than beating yourself up does.

You can hate yourself to your dream goal, or you can love yourself there. Loving yourself gets you there twice as fast, without burnout, with relationships intact, and it feels a heck of a lot better. Which will you choose?

Let’s prevent spiraling into negative/harmful thinking by bringing balance to the thoughts around a situation you’re currently thinking as negative.

The past is the past, and in order to stay posi and keep moving forward, we need to look to our next big (or little) step. Taking with you the wisdom you’ve gained, and as a more optimistic version of yourself, what’s next for you? Where do you see yourself going? Where do you want to go? How about if money and time weren’t a factor?

I guarantee you that the power of positive thinking will get you there faster—and the ride will be much more enjoyable, too!