Optimal Thinking

How to be Your Best Self By Rosalene Glickman, Ph.D.; John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002

Many people would like to experience the best in life, love, relationships, and / or career but still settle for second best. Despite feeling unsatisfied at home, work and in their relationships many still choose to stay in such situations. This book offers an approach to empower you to learn and realize your highest priorities and to help you find and develop the best solutions in attaining them. Optimal Thinking by

Rosalene Glickman will help you learn to maximize your talents, resources and time. Make the most of every opportunity and attain personal and professional satisfaction so that you will never have to settle for second best again.
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The Big Idea Optimal Thinking: The Next Step Beyond Positive Thinking What Does Optimal Mean to You? How to Use Optimal Thinking Constantly Achieve Optimal Self-Esteem Discover Your Ultimate Direction Plan Your Best Life Optimize Your Feelings Maximize Your Communications Optimal Thinking at Work

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Optimal Thinking: The Next Step Beyond Positive Thinking

What is Optimal Thinking? Optimal thinking empowers you to be your best and never settle for second best. You can achieve this and also assist others bring out the best in themselves by asking the best questions to help them realize what is important to them. Below are some questions that you can employ to bring out the best in you / your family / your friends: What is important to you? What is your major objective / goal? What is the best way to handle the situation? What is the best solution? What is the best opportunity right now? What are the company's strengths? What is my strength? What is the best way to minimize wastage? Cost? You can use optimal thinking any place at any time. It doesn't matter if you are young, old or at the prime of your life. In other words, it doesn't matter what stage in life you are in or what circumstances you find yourself in. You can use optimal thinking to make the most out of your life. It can be easily learned and applied. Why Positive Thinking Falls Short 1. Positive thinking is often used to suppress negativity 2. Positive thinking is often no more than wishful thinking.

3. There are varying shades of positive thinking. 4. Sub-optimal thinking is not the mental basis of peak performance. 5. If you don't maximize a situation, you don't complete it.

What Does Optimal Mean to You?

Individuals are trained early on to use the leftbrain (logical thinking) when they have difficulty performing right-brain activities (creative, artistic and intuitive thinking). It is best that you learn to use both sides of the brain to optimize your choices and consciously choose what is optimal to you. How to optimize simple decisions: 1. Define the problem. 2. Define the time frame in which the decision is to be made. 3. Explore options for resolving the problem. 4. Eliminate options that are unrealistic. 5. Examine the consequences of each option. 6. Rate the pros and cons from a scale of 1 to 10. 7. Determine which option is in your best interest. How to optimize complex decisions: 1. Decide upon what you most want to achieve 2. Define the time frame in which the decision is to be made 3. Make a list of the most important factors that will influence your decision. 4. Rate your criteria 5. Rate how your first option meets your criteria. 6. Multiply the ratings of your criteria (step 4) by the rating of how your option meets your criteria (step 5) 7. Determine the total score. 8. Complete steps 6 and 7 for your other options. 9. Decide on your best option base on the highest score.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Author: Rosalene Glickman, Ph.D. Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc Date of Publication: 2002 ISBN : 0-471-41464-6 No. of Pages: 243 pages

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You can use your right-brain to get in touch with what you want best in life or with what best means to you through visualization. Determine what you want to see, hear, think and feel and surround yourself with these things. Also, visualize how you can achieve your dreams and make it happen. Sometimes you can intuitively feel what is best for you. You can spend some quite time (such as meditation, brisk walking, jogging, etc) to reflect on these and the ways to achieve them. Spending some solitude time can provide you with greatest flashes of insights or aha moments. The Key to Optimal Answer is the Optimal Question To attain the most enjoyable path, you have to ask questions such as: What are the most enjoyable activities? How can I make the activity more enjoyable? and What is the most enjoyable use of time right now? To get the most out of yourself, you have to ask, What is the best option right now? What is the best way to get there? or When is the best time to take this action? You can use different what, why, how, when, who and where questions to get the best possible answers. It is recommended that you arrange them in the highest order of priority before answering them. Below are examples of best questions. What do I like best about myself? What are my greatest talent / skill / asset? What is or why is it my most important goal? Why is this the best opportunity? How do I bring out the best in myself? Who is the person that could best help me? When is the best time for this action? Where is the best location for work?

thinking all the time, but there are ways to frequently use optimal thinking. You can make use of optimal thinking by following the following steps: 1. Consciously choose optimal thinking. When you are aware that you are thinking suboptimally, accept this and consciously choose your best self and think at peak level. Use optimal thinking to get back on track. 2. Monitor yourself. At the end of the day/week/month/year, ask yourself: What percentage of the day (or week/month/year) was I the right or the best person in the best place at the best time involved in the most important activity on the best way? This can be done in a form of a matrix:
Percentage of the day as an optimal thinker Right person 90 Best place 90 Best time 90 Most important activity 85 Best way 85

How to Use Optimal Thinking Constantly

It is unrealistic to think that one can use optimal

3. Overcome limiting core beliefs. Perhaps you are conditioned to want and expect less than the best or you have opposing beliefs about your ability and your worth. You must overcome these core beliefs in order for you to fully optimize your best self. Below are some of these limiting core beliefs: a. I am not responsible for my life. You need to take full responsibility for the choices you make and its outcome in order to be the best that you can be, b. Something is wrong (with me, you or the world). When you are constantly complaining or preoccupied with criticism, you cut off compassion and are unaware of what is in your best interest. c. I don't deserve the best in life. You must accept the best that life has to offer and that you are entitled to it. If you feel that you are worthy, you will be attracting all the positive energy. d. I experience fear. Fear can hinder optimal thinking and it can hinder you from being and achieving the best that you can possibly be. Fear of love, fear of losing self, fear of rejection, fear of failure and success are just some of these emotions that get in the way of optimal thinking. e. I can't have what I want. When you believe that you can't have what you want, then you

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really won't have it. Change this limiting belief by believing that you can have exactly what you want. f. Life is a struggle. Life isn't meant to be hard. Choose goals that are clearly attainable, and take the easiest path towards these goals.

change to improve. Use optimal affirmations. Use these statements to imprint in your mind the best results that you want. You can write them down or use the visualization technique. Visualization. Your mind cannot really distinguish between what you visualize and what you actually experience. Optimal visualization enables you to suggest to your

Achieve Optimal Self-Esteem

Dr. Nathaniel Barden, author of The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, offers this definition: Self-esteem is the disposition to experience oneself as competent to cope with the challenges of life and as deserving of happiness. The way you think and feel about yourself affects every aspect of your life. If you feel that you are worthy of love and respect, you validate your existence. It is a sense of personal confidence, worthiness and competence. How to validate and rate yourself Take a pen and a piece of paper and do some personal assessment using the following criteria: Assets Physical Assets Mental Assets Personality Strengths Social Strengths Career and / or Daily Task Strengths Personal Achievements What You Like Most About Yourself Liabilities Physical liabilities Mental and Spiritual Liabilities Personal Weaknesses Social Weaknesses Career and / or Daily Task Strengths Personal Disappointments What I Dislike Most About Myself Your Best Self To achieve your best self and your highest level of self esteem it is best that you optimize your assets and minimize your liabilities. Accept yourself unconditionally and see your weakness/liabilities as a

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Thought leader, Rosalene Glickman, Ph.D. is the creator and best-selling author of Optimal Thinking, hailed by academia and the media as "the successor to positive thinking." Dr. Glickman is President of The World Academy of Personal Development Inc., a Century City, Los Angeles training and consulting firm. Since 1980, she has provided life and executive coaching, business consulting and training for individuals and organizations including Warner Bros., Johnson & Johnson, U.S. Army, Young Presidents' Organization, BP, California State University, Fullerton (School of Business Administration), National Australia Bank, Internal Revenue Service, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Century 21 Real Estate, The Australian Institute of Management, Mensa, and Air New Zealand. Dr. Glickman is the recipient of the "Woman of the Year" award for National Business Women's Week in Hollywood. She has been nominated for special recognition by Queen Elizabeth II for Australia's highest award, The Order of Australia. This Optimal Thinking woman is a seasoned print and electronic media interviewee. She has been featured on Bloomberg TV, Fox News Channel, CBS Weekend Magazine, New York Times, Association Management Magazine, Government Executive Magazine, Inc magazine, Business Review Weekly, Australian Business Magazine, The Australian, The Age, Personal Success Magazine, Successful Selling and Managing Magazine, L.A. Weekly, and the list goes on. Dr. Glickman, who was born in Australia, lives in Los Angeles. She began her career as a high school Physics and Chemistry teacher, and later became Chair of the Science Department. She has earned a Ph.D. in Psychology, a Teaching diploma and a degree in Business Administration.

To know more about the author, go to: http://www.optimalthinking.com/DrGlickman.html

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subconscious mind exactly what you want by using the best pictures, symbols and all your senses. It prepares you to reach your most desired goals. Marry yourself. Have a contract with yourself to concretize your commitment to be your best self.

What would your ultimate day be like? What would your ultimate environment be like? What do you want to accomplish most in life? A Purposeful Career Here are some questions to help you identify your career purpose: What are your strengths, talents, skills and gifts? What are the assets that you could bring in to the company / on the table? What makes you happy? What do you love to do? What are you most interested in doing? What cause do you want to serve? What kind of organization are you best suited in ? What is your career purpose?

Discover Your Ultimate Direction

Life Purpose Your life purpose outlines your direction in life. It is your reason for being and reflects your principles and what you value most in life. Your purpose guides your thinking and behavior and empowers you to make decisions that are consistent with your values and principles. Your life purpose need not be specific or measurable. Your goals provide the specific, measurable and reachable steps to fulfill your ultimate purpose. Optimal Thinkers dedicate their best efforts to reaching and justifying their life purpose. They know what they want to accomplish, what they stand for and what they are committed to. Identify Your Life Purpose The following questions will help you identify your life purpose: What do you care about most deeply? What and who do you love? What are you deeply committed to? What do you stand for? What are your principles? When are you at your best? What has given you the greatest feelings of importance in life? What has been most beneficial for your self-esteem? What is it that you definitely don't want? What do you want more than anything else? What activities do you enjoy most? In order of priority, what are the three things you value most in life? In order of priority, what are your three most important ambitions in life? If you have one year to live, how would you make the most out of it? How would you like to be remembered?

Plan Your Best Life

Set SUPREME Goals SUPREME goals provide concrete checkpoints for to achieve your purpose. These are: Specific Uplifting Paramount Reachable Exciting Measurable Enjoyable Write down your Life Purpose and your SUPREME goals. Writing them down makes them concrete, clarifies your thinking and purpose, and keeps you on track. It also stimulates the visualization process and helps you communicate clearly what you consider to be most important. Modes of Optimal Planning Forward Planning. In this process, you start from where you are and move forward as far as you can see, and when you arrive at that point, you look further. You write down your SUPREME goals according to a time line (i.e. short, medium and long term goals). Reverse Planning. In this process, you break down your most compelling dreams and

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SUPREME goals into realistic action steps. In reverse planning, you decide that goal is in your best interest / if you will be able to attain it.

Optimize Your Feelings

Your emotions are direct responses to your perception. They indicate whether your experiences are pleasurable or painful and inform you if your thoughts and actions are in harmony with your core self. They alert you if your thinking and actions are not good for you so that you can make changes. How to Master Disturbing Feelings 1. Accept your emotions 2.Understand and learn from your disturbing emotions a. Why do you feel this way? b. What are you dealing with? c. What are you afraid of? Why? d. How do I behave when you feel bad? e. What is the feeling / situation trying to teach / tell you? 3. Determine the best way to heal disturbing emotions a. When feelings are manageable i. Look within and ascertain exactly what is provoking your feelings ii. Explore the lesson you are being offered iii. Decide if you want to give yourself a cooling-off period iv. Determine the best way to handle your feelings b. When feelings are unmanageable i. Stay present, observe your feelings, and give yourself a cooling-off period. ii. Look within and ascertain exactly what is provoking your feelings iii. Explore the lesson you are being offered. iv. Determine the best way to handle your feelings Optimization Signals You can employ painful feelings to learn from them and optimize your life. Ask yourself Why am I feeling this? Can I accept this? What do I do to eliminate this feeling? What can I learn from this? These emotions are: Helplessness Discomfort

Anxiety Hurt Anger Disappointment Guilt Depression Grief Envy Loneliness How to Optimize Your Feelings You can maximize your feelings by exploring which needs are meet when you are experiencing them. Below are some approaches to assist you in optimizing your feelings: Write a journal. The author calls this streamof-conscious writing. It doesn't matter what your write, how you express yourself or how long it takes. Forgiveness Gratitude Self-confidence Love, joy and happiness Optimal affirmations Optimal visualization Self-hypnosis Relaxation and mediation Recall optimal emotional experiences Verbalize your emotions to other optimal thinkers Do your best

Maximize Your Communications

Optimal communication enables individuals to make the most of their relationships. Getting along well with others as well as you possibly can is the key to maximizing success at home, work, with friends and other relationships. Barriers to Optimal Communication A huge barrier is the lack of awareness of one's limits, feelings, beliefs and expectations. It is difficult to understand others if you don't understand yourself. These obstacles can be in the form of irritating small talk, rudeness, tantrums, criticism, threats, bossiness and attempting to dominate others.

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Four Optimal Questions When relating to others, have these questions in mind: 1. Are you giving your undivided attention? 2. Are you showing total interest in the other person? 3. Are you seeking mutual understanding? 4. Are you inspiring optimal action / reaction? Listen for Optimal Communication 1. Give your undivided attention 2. Tune in completely to the other person's needs and wants 3. Respond with optimal reflection Non-verbal Communication Non-verbal messages are the most reliable means of communicating emotions and approximately 85 percent of communication is done non-verbally. Non-verbal messages not only disclose feelings but also how one relates to the feeling or the other person.

What are the company's strengths? What are its weaknesses? How do you maximize the strengths and minimize the weakness? What are the opportunities and threats? How will you make the most of the opportunities and minimize threats? What are the greatest strengths of the individuals in your company / team? How should you motivate them? What is the best way to motivate them? What is the best actions you can make to be fully satisfied with your position?

Optimal Thinking at Work

You spend almost one-third of your life at work, so it is in your best interest to optimize your work situation. Some have followed their inner most desire for their chosen career path. They discover, explore and express their innate talents and offer service to others in harmony with their life and career purpose. By valuing their capabilities and contributing them to others, they experience extreme satisfaction in their work and meaningful compensation for expressing their passion. Assess Your Company Why does your company or team exist? What is its ultimate purpose? What are the most important objectives of your company / team this year? What is the best way to achieve them within specific time frames?

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