04/01/2025

Embed "Active Optimism" into Your Work Life

There are things we can do to prevent ourselves from spiraling downward

When meeting clients, I make one promise—to see the world as it could be.

That is not a bad message right now. It is a pretty weird world out there. The volatile political and socio-economic landscape can make us all feel like things are going to hell. And in the slightly less real world of marketing and advertising, that is even more the case. The challenges of any agency or client team continue to escalate. Instability abounds. Then there is the issue of client loyalty, reduced scopes, tighter timelines, and the not-so-secret plan of AI to take everyone's jobs. And then the cynicism comes.

As we know, misery loves company, so soon—if you want to find it—it can turn up everywhere. You'll see it in status meetings, LinkedIn posts, industry events and coffee machine catch-ups. Quickly it becomes less funny. In the end, it’s just a deluge of boring negative energy.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.