Three men walk into a bar..

I read this quote the other day from William Ward, and it made me stop and think, 'Well, who am I?' Am I the pessimist who sits and complains? Am I the optimist hoping for change? Or am I the realist making the change? 

Then I thought, I am all three. As I get older I realise that life isn't always black and white, there are grey areas as well as purple, turquoise and indigo! Everything in moderation is what is important. Whilst on leadership training, I learnt that being one type of leader isn't beneficial. Sometimes a leader is required to be authoritative but then at times they may need to be democratic. It depends on the context.

It's similar to the three different perspectives. In order for the realist to adjust the sails, he needs to see and know that adjusting them will make a difference. He will need to employ an optimistic point of view. Then, in order to see the need for change, the optimist must see that the wind is causing a problem, which is where the pessimistic line of thinking comes in.

The problem is when we live in one perspective. Always complaining, not seeing a hope for change and not changing anything will get us nowhere. We first must acknowledge that something needs to change, see that it can be changed and then change it. We can't dwell in the pessimistic or optimistic stage, as time waits for no one.