I am a softball player.

Softball, like baseball, has been called a game of failure.

I know, only too well the aggervation of a "strike-three" call. I have felt the physical pain of diving for a ball, only to miss and I certainly have felt the sting of defeat more times than I can count.

However, for me the game is not one of failure. It's a game of growth and it's a game of optimism. 

Sustainable optimism is not blind hope that things will go your way. That's putting your faith in luck. We tend to think pessimism rears its ugly head when people give up and just say "life is doing this to me." How is that so different than just hoping life will treat you right. Optimism is more than hope.

Optimism is not just cheer and happiness, or confidence and strength. In fact, those terms describe an optimistic person, but those attributes are the result of a person who has discovered that they are in control of their life, and not the other way around.

Optimistic people have developed and nurtured some very special qualities and traits. These elements are attitudes that great parents pass to their kids, and lessons great coaches pass to their players. They are the essence of the game.

The first of these is "Do not fear failure." Failure is not an enemy. Rather, in the hand of an optimist, it's a tool towards success. A person who never fails neither grows, nor learns. Thomas Edison famously said "I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work."

In competition, failure is the incentive to grow. It's the catalyst that pushes good players to work harder. In travel ball, there are tournaments that are better known for their level of play. Our coach would typically sign our team up for a tournament with less skilled teams early on as the season starts. We played hard and typically won. It felt good, and victory was seductive. However, for the remainder of the season we would play teams who were clearly at an advanced skill level. We were going to loose games... some badly. But throughout as we lost, we learned, we worked harder and our teams skill-set began to grow to match the higher level of competition and we won.

Corresponding with not fearing failure is the optimistic persons ability to "shake it off". Failure is not meeting your goal. Mistakes, on the other hand, happen to everyone. We mess up. Dropping a fly ball, mishandling a throw, or wow... allowing that ball to go through your legs.... they happen to everyone. We don't want these things to happen and the coach will definitely offer his unsolicited opinion on your actions. However, it's the optimistic person's ability to "shake it off" that allows her to refocus on the game and not dwell on the past. Nobody likes to mess up, but it's how we handle ourselves when we do mess up that defines our character, or attitude, and our outlook in life.

An optimist "keeps their eye on the ball." They set goals and have a plan for life. But they also know that they must deal with the low and inside pitches right along with that one straight down the middle. Along with this, they study and honestly appraise " what's not working so they can correct it." The optimist's confidence is rooted in preparation.

You get out of the game what you put into the game. The optimist is dedicated to making improvements and isn't afraid of hard work. The optimist is driven and unafraid of hard work, sore muscles and a few bruises knowing that when the time comes she is ready to make that play.

The optimist has not time for worrying about things they cannot do anything about; and turn worry into action over things they CAN affect.

Successful softball players prepare for what the other team is going to throw at them; just like optimists prepare for what life will throw at them. You see, optimism is not about ignoring the challenges and difficulties that we all face. It's about how we confront those challenges and, every once in a while, win the game. 

So what does the world gain from optimism? Happier, hard-working, self assured, and driven people... who do not think that the world owes them something, and just sit around waiting for life to happen for them, but instead, they are people who treat life as it they owe it to the world to be the best that they can be and who make their own life happen and end up winning each and everyday.