5 Choices To Help You Lead with Optimism and Hope in the Future

You must first possess a positive outlook of the future before you can authentically lead with optimism and hope into the future.

I like eggs for breakfast. Some people like them sunny side up and others scrambled. How about you?

Leaders are wired as differently as we like our eggs. Some are just sunny side up people. They wake up happy! Others wake up a little scrambled, until their first cup of coffee. (My hand is up.) For some, it seems like they burnt their eggs, it’s just not going to be a good day.

Regardless of our wiring, we don’t get a pass when it comes to leading with optimism. People are counting on us to have faith in the future.

If we can’t lead ourselves forward with an optimistic spirit and hope in the future, we can’t lead others there either.

But life isn’t always like a bowl full of cherries, is it?

We all face difficult challenges both in our personal lives as well as in the church. Perhaps you’re going through one right now.

How do you authentically express hope when life doesn’t always feel hopeful?

And by the way, I’m not suggesting that as a good leader, you never have a bad day, get discouraged, or second-guess yourself. We all do.

But your confidence will wear thin, and your influence may decline without a positive attitude toward life in general. A hope-filled and optimistic disposition about the future will increase your leadership confidence.

Before we dig into how we can increase optimistic hope, let’s take a brief look at some ways that can break down your optimism.

5 responses that break down your optimism and hope:
(The key question is, are any of these an ongoing disposition, or a leaning you are prone to?)

• Doubt: lack confidence about the potential of the church to be a force for good in the future.
• Worry: consumed by big problems that might happen, rather than focusing on the good than can happen.
• Cynicism: for example, losing confidence in the faithfulness of volunteers.
• Negativity: a general bent toward the glass half empty, seeing problems over solutions.
• Fear: faith often takes a backseat to fear.