I analyze data every day and sometimes it can be tempting to slice and dice it to put things into the most favorable light. It’s also tempting to do that in other areas of our lives. Looking at things from just the right angle can make them appear better than they really are.
A lot of the time, we’d rather look at things through rose-colored glasses and pretend that everything is fine and dandy. But sometimes it just isn’t fine and dandy. Sometimes reality isn’t what we want it to be. But refusing to come to terms with the present situation doesn’t change it, it only ensures that it won’t get better.
The first step in making anything better is looking at it for what it is, faults and failings included. That isn’t to say we need to nitpick everything, but we have to open our eyes and not look past things we’d rather not deal with.
When looking at the present, we need realism to see where we actually are. That’s the only way we can make a plan to get to where we want to be. Then, while looking forward, we can be optimistic about what the future will hold.
It’s like in golf. You have to acknowledge when you have a bad lie while still being optimistic that you can pull off a great shot.
So, let’s be realists while looking at the present, and optimistic about the future.
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