Housing.com provided an opportunity to write a story around a moment that filled me with optimism and hope for the future. And here is my take on the advantages of being optimistic... always! 

I am one of those people branded a "techie" by the outside world. I work a minimum of nine hours in a box called the cubicle, constantly under pressure of deadlines, bosses, performance reviews and the like. However significant (or otherwise) my work might be, it is very easy for my work to become my life.

That, is dangerous. Work is not life. Not just for the techie in question, but for all of us out here. If some bug (lifeless, that doesn't even exist in the real world!) can make us believe that work is our life, life starts to lose its meaning.

Being under pressure is not a new thing for most employees. I am no exception. So I do get pulled down by pressure. This was one of such situations. Finish an almost impossible task, by end-of-day!

What do I do in such a situation? Lose heart? That's too easy. So if I want to try something better, I had to think more. Bad proposition when I am already under pressure. And with three more hours before the end-of-day arrives.

But I did not give up. I thought about the nice dinner (OK, a little cold) that would  be waiting for me back home once I get out of here. I thought about the happy time I could spend with my daughter in the park next Saturday, once this trouble is taken care of. I thought of the multiple blog posts, articles and books that I could write, when that elusive plan of the long vacation materializes. The ice cream I could have with my nephew and the fight we can create for the last bite.

All of this took five minutes. Was that a time waste when I was already pressed for time? Not really! These five minutes gave me a lot of energy and enthusiasm to tackle the problem in hand. I was not so down with pressure now. And I could manage to finish what looked impossible sometime ago, by end-of-day.

This formula, I realize, works all the time. Whatever might be the importance of stuff we do at work, it can never be our life. We work for our life. As long as we remain optimistic, we keep that life beautiful. And not let work become our life.

See? Just a different view of the problem, and a different approach to solve it, can bring in a lot of change in our lives. Thinking outside of the box, or thinking without any box, or whatever, does not simply have to deal with the problem alone. Getting ready to solve the problem, like in my case here, can also make a difference. Know what, there are not many problems at work which we can not solve: right frame of mind is the only thing that's missing in most cases!

So how do we fix this issue? Follow the same rule that helped me. Just be optimistic. As easy as that! (Does that apply to you too? ask yourself!)