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Cultivate Optimism · WholeHeart Conversations

• 0:00
  Constance Lavonice: Optimism is shown to improve health outcomes, lead to more life satisfaction, longevity, and it improves mental health.
• 0:12
  Constance Lavonice: Optimism leads to resilience.
• 0:16
  Constance Lavonice: Even if you're not optimistic by nature, or you tend to be more pessimistic, you can cultivate optimism.
• 0:28
  Constance Lavonice: If you're new here, welcome.
• 0:31
  Constance Lavonice: You're listening to Whole Heart Conversations.
• 0:35
  Constance Lavonice: This is a podcast especially for women that provides biblical encouragement to foster whole heart, spirit, soul, and body resilience.
• 0:47
  Constance Lavonice: I am your host, Constance Lavonice.
• 0:51
  Constance Lavonice: According to the Oxford Online Dictionary, optimism is defined as hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something?
• 1:06
  Constance Lavonice: How optimistic are you?
• 1:10
  Constance Lavonice: Are you optimistic about your life or the future?
• 1:15
  Constance Lavonice: Do you have a level of hope and confidence that you are experiencing or able to experience positive outcomes?
• 1:26
  Constance Lavonice: Do you expect positive outcomes?
• 1:30
  Constance Lavonice: Our expectations directly influence our experiences in life.
• 1:38
  Constance Lavonice: They come from our heart, our inner being, our soul, mind, will, and emotions.
• 1:47
  Constance Lavonice: Proverbs chapter four tells us to guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
• 1:59
  Constance Lavonice: Your heart, the inner self, the beliefs determines the course of our life.
• 2:08
  Constance Lavonice: We can live our lives with a pessimistic spirit, believing the worst will happen, expecting it to happen, and drawing our attention to the worst, or we can embody optimism, positive expectancy, hope, and confidence, and flourish, grow and thrive, and remain fruitful regardless of the circumstances.
• 2:39
  Constance Lavonice: That's resilience, and we cultivate it through optimism.
• 2:45
  Constance Lavonice: How do we cultivate optimism?
• 2:50
  Constance Lavonice: I want to provide three strategies: a shift in our mindset, gratitude, and curiosity.
• 3:02
  Constance Lavonice: The first one is a shift in our mindset.
• 3:06
  Constance Lavonice: That's our way of thinking.
• 3:08
  Constance Lavonice: We have to reframe and align our thoughts with the Word of God.
• 3:15
  Constance Lavonice: Every time you go down the path of negative thinking and worst-case scenarios, that default way of thinking, when you become aware of it, we have to shift our attention and replace it with the truth of God's word.
• 3:38
  Constance Lavonice: Remember that as a Christian, as someone who has a relationship with Christ, we are a new creation.
• 3:49
  Constance Lavonice: The old has passed away and the new is here.
• 3:55
  Constance Lavonice: We also have the mind of Christ, which means that we can think like Christ.
• 4:02
  Constance Lavonice: So monitor our thoughts, recognize when we're thinking in a way that's unhelpful or negative or even sometimes maladaptive, and realign our thinking to the truth of God's word.
• 4:22
  Constance Lavonice: And one of the truths is found in Romans chapter 15, verse 13.
• 4:30
  Constance Lavonice: I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.
• 4:42
  Constance Lavonice: Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit, the source of hope.
• 4:55
  Constance Lavonice: And he fills us completely with joy and peace through the Holy Spirit that is within us.
• 5:11
  Constance Lavonice: Recall that as a Christian, when you made the decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you were filled with his Holy Spirit.
• 5:26
  Constance Lavonice: And part of that filling are the fruit of the Spirit.
• 5:32
  Constance Lavonice: Love, joy, peace is already in you.
• 5:38
  Constance Lavonice: Joy contributes to optimism.
• 5:44
  Constance Lavonice: Or I can say optimism is a result of experiencing joy.
• 5:52
  Constance Lavonice: Gratitude is the next strategy.
• 5:57
  Constance Lavonice: Being thankful, which means paying attention to the good, the good in you and around you.
• 6:07
  Constance Lavonice: Gratitude improves our moods.
• 6:11
  Constance Lavonice: It alters our brain chemistry.
• 6:14
  Constance Lavonice: It boosts dopamine and serotonin.
• 6:17
  Constance Lavonice: So expect to see good because good is all around you.
• 6:25
  Constance Lavonice: Open your eyes to see it.
• 6:28
  Constance Lavonice: The third strategy is practicing curiosity.
• 6:33
  Constance Lavonice: Be willing to learn just for the sake of learning.
• 6:38
  Constance Lavonice: Open your Bible and read it.
• 6:40
  Constance Lavonice: See what it says for yourself instead of hearing what someone else says about the Bible and engage in a new experience.
• 6:52
  Constance Lavonice: Look for evidence of what the Bible says in your own life, in nature, in the lives of other people who are walking in relationship with Christ.
• 7:06
  Constance Lavonice: Practice gratitude and curiosity.
• 7:11
  Constance Lavonice: Then optimism will become a part of your life.
• 7:16
  Constance Lavonice: And if this was helpful, please subscribe and share so we can encourage other women.
• 7:26
  Constance Lavonice: And text the show and let me know what's on your heart.