Times are tough and that’s a fact, but just because you can find lots of reasons for feeling down and becoming a bona fide pessimist doesn’t mean that you should. The fact is, optimism creates opportunity and pessimism kills it.

How do you see your glass, half-full or half-empty?

Research has found that seeing the glass half-full not only makes you happier but also makes you healthier and wealthier.

This is not just motivational talk, the bible supports it: Prov. 15:15 “For the despondent, every day brings trouble, for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.”

Here are strategies to fill up your cup - Take a listen.

As Christians, we don’t always approach our work in a very integrated way and to my mind; I think it’s because we do not have the know-how. Our discipleship system does not offer much practical help.

Some people will tell you that some jobs are more meaningful than others, so start by finding a meaningful job. There is some truth to this. Research suggests that when jobs provide the following benefits or opportunities, people find it easier to experience meaning:

• Autonomy, the freedom to try out your own ideas.

• A chance to use your skills.

• A sense of how your work contributes to a tangible product or service you can identify.

• Co-workers who enjoy and value their work, and with whom you get along.

• A leader who sets a clear vision that you value, who lives out that vision, who expresses genuine concern about you, who encourages you to take risks and solve problems creatively, who gives you confidence, and who expands your goals.

• An organizational mission that fits with what you value.

If you have a job that provides all or most of these things, count yourself privileged. If you have a chance to move into a position that gets you closer to this, you should seriously consider taking it. But for many people, simply finding a better job is not a realistic option. Lots of people spend their careers job-hopping in search of the perfect position that likely doesn’t exist.

What things should we do to find or make our work more meaningful? Take a listen.

What does a business owe to its community, its country, and the world at large? What does it mean for a business to not just do good but be good? What would such aspiration require? Millennials and Generation Z employees see themselves as part of a purpose economy. This generation of workers expects the work they do to reflect something significant about who they are, and, further, they expect the companies they work for to be about more than making money. So the real question is, what is the purpose of business and where can we find it? Take a listen.

Our capacity for success lies not so much with our intelligence but with our focus. When we mobilize our power of thought toward a single issue for a prolonged time, we can achieve spectacular results. Casual consideration won’t solve today’s problems. To find answers, a person must set all else aside and focus deeply and relentlessly on an issue until powerful new insights emerge.

To achieve our goal, we must beware of distractions. Distraction is the temptation to give the focus and energy needed for something highly important to something that is often quite insignificant.

Oliver Burkeman once said, “What will your life have been, in the end, but the sum total of everything you spent it focusing on?”

Workplace competition is a common thing. Man is a competitive being, often desiring to outdo one's self and others. We all know how hard it is to succeed in a competitive market, and how we’re constantly tempted to seek our own advantage at others’ expense.

The pressures of competition are both constructive and dangerous: Constructive in the sense that it encourages excellence, value creation, and accountability to customers but dangerous because it could lead to temptations to cut corners, deceive customers or undermine the work of competitors. Competition both destroys and creates wealth and jobs as well as cultivates both fear and hope.

While competing requires that we compare ourselves to others and aim to displace or dispossess them of what they have, the Bible cautions us against comparing ourselves with others or coveting and longing for, what others possess

As Christians, we can make competition irrelevant by focusing on glorifying God and matching ourselves against His standards rather than competing with others.

Blaming others is giving your primal power to the people and conditions that you blame. It reinforces your psychological victim stories and procrastination patterns to where they actually become your identity.

The instinct to blame is a toxic pattern. It deprives us of our agency, weakens our relationships, causes dysfunction in the workplace, and creates inertia across our lives. You begin to take back your power to be the creator of your bravest life and the generator of your wildest dreams once you stop blaming that which is outside of you for the things you are currently experiencing.

The invitation to follow Christ is an invitation to change the world. If you're a Christian, God has called you to be a change agent in this world, fulfilling His purposes wherever you go. Your story is so much more than your personal life; it’s a vital part of the greater story of what God is doing in the world.

Stepping into your role as God’s representative within your sphere of influence will unleash God’s power all around you, changing the world for the better.

Our personal vision is the clearest description of our calling, the assignment God has given us in this life. It should constantly remind us of the unique way in which God has chosen us to fit into his grand plan of redemption.

In fact, one of the great joys of being a Christian is that you have the confidence of knowing that you personally fit into this glorious plan. While the specifics of our lives and callings may vary, we share a common purpose: to bring the principles of God’s kingdom to bear in every area of life. Our personal vision ties us to this common scriptural goal.

Being organized brings efficiency into our lives. It brings order from chaos. God is an efficient God. He works through orderly systems to bring life and order to all of creation. If you do not organize, you will agonize.