3 Practical Steps to Build Optimism Skills in a Time of Uncertainty

The world Is running low on hope, but there’s a way forward. Paradoxically, a shift to practical optimism starts with acknowledging and embracing difficult feelings. There are three “bridges” that offer an actionable pathway.

by Joshua Freedman, MCC

Around the globe, people are feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and uncertain about the future. According to State of the Heart 2024, global optimism has dropped more than 8% since 2019; the sharpest decline among all emotional intelligence skills.

This loss of optimism is shaping how people engage with their lives, work, and future. A 2025 survey from the University of Phoenix found that 1 in 4 American workers feel their professional future is out of their control, and those who lack a sense of agency are significantly more likely to experience burnout. Meanwhile, only 23% of employees worldwide report feeling engaged at work, while 60% say they are emotionally detached, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplacereport. This emotional withdrawal is especially acute among younger generations: over 53% of Gen Z report low satisfaction, with steep drops in emotional intelligence and hope for the future.

Meanwhile, if we want to move out of these problems, we’ll need to innovate. It turns out, optimism is tightly linked with creativity and innovation. A 2024 study published in the Journal of Innovation & Knowledge found that national optimism significantly predicts innovation output, and declining optimism correlates with reduced inventiveness and problem-solving capacity.

Why Learning Optimism Matters More Than Ever

This decline isn’t just emotional. It’s practical. Optimism fuels innovation, risk-taking, and resilience. Without it, people struggle to take initiative or even see a way forward.

“Exercise Optimism is the skill they need to see new options, but right now they feel helpless.”
— State of the Heart 2024

We’re in an emotional recession: a widespread loss of motivation, empathy, and energy. When people stop believing they can shape their future, we lose momentum. As we lose momentum, everything else, from mental health to innovation, starts to unravel.

And yet, this is exactly the moment when we need optimism most.

Not the fake-it-‘til-you-make-it kind. Not a smiley-face sticker on serious problems. Real optimism. The kind that gets its hands dirty. The kind that acts.

At Six Seconds, we call this Exercise Optimism because like any muscle, it grows with effort. It’s not about pretending things are fine. It’s about doing the emotional work to uncover possibilities even when things feel impossible.

Optimism isn’t a fixed trait. It’s not about being “an optimistic person” versus a “pessimistic” one. Optimism is a strategy. It’s a skill we can practice, teach, and strengthen.

When people develop this skill, it doesn’t just lift their spirits, it changes what they do. Optimism unlocks agency. It fuels problem-solving and connection. And crucially, it creates a ripple effect: when we model optimism, others begin to feel it’s possible too. 

3 Bridges to Help You Build Optimism as a Skill

So how do we cross from helplessness to hope? Confront the pain, feel it, and open yourself up to a sense of possibility. In the struggle, seek out new options. It’s not about “being positive,” Exercising Optimism is a way to be realistic and innovative. Remember you haven’t tried every option yet.

There are three bridges to optimism, adapted from psychologist Martin Seligman’s TIE model: Time, Isolation, and Effort. In times of struggle, we must intentionally cross these bridges to shift from stagnation to action.

1. Time

It feels like there’s no way out, but time changes everything

When we are in crisis, it can seem like things will always be this way. But when we Exercise Optimism, we acknowledge that time is moving. Circumstances will change. This bridge reminds us that what feels permanent rarely is. The emotional recession we’re experiencing? It’s serious, but it’s not forever.

What’s happening now is temporary. Time is moving. Change is coming. We can’t see it yet, but it’s already unfolding.

When we feel like a challenge is endless, we can become flooded with emotions like impatience or despair. These so-called “negative” emotions are often misread as signs of failure or weakness, but in fact, they signal something deeper: we want things to be different. That longing, that friction, is part of hope. The danger is in turning away from the discomfort. But if we stay with these feelings, they can sharpen our focus. They help us ask: What part of this situation could shift soon? When we connect with those feelings, they help us narrow our focus and tune into the small opportunities to move forward.

2. Isolation:

Some things are awful, others are not

When we’re overwhelmed, it’s easy to overgeneralize: Everything’s falling apart. Nothing’s working. But that’s not true. When we build this bridge, we remind ourselves (and our clients, our students, our teams) that while challenges exist, there are parts of life (some relationships, actions, values) that are still strong. 

Exercise Optimism helps us zoom out and see: some things are still working. That perspective helps us anchor and rebuild.

When stress escalates, it can feel like everything is breaking down. We may feel overwhelmed or confused, unable to distinguish between what’s falling apart and what’s still intact. These emotions emerge when our internal systems are overloaded; they’re signs that we need clarity and support. If we avoid these feelings, we risk moving into burnout or withdrawing from emotions and people all together. But if we stay curious about these difficult feelings, they can help us locate stable ground. They ask us to pause, rest, and sort through the mess: What’s still working? Where do I feel connected or clear? Even small islands of stability can anchor us through the storm.

3. Effort:

I might not be able to do everything, but I can do something

Perhaps the most powerful shift comes when we move from powerlessness to agency. Even if we don’t know exactly what to do, the belief that effort matters, that our actions have impact, is a gamechanger. It creates motion, momentum, and the possibility of something better.

This is not about forced positivity. It’s about reclaiming our ability to do something – and teaching others to do the same.

In moments of crisis, we often feel helpless or lost. These emotions reflect a painful gap between what we care about and what feels possible. But they’re also deeply human. They show that we want to engage, to matter, to make a difference. If we numb out or ignore these feelings, we lose momentum. But if we listen to them, they can point us back to agency. We can ask: What’s one small action I can take? Effort isn’t about solving everything, it’s about stepping toward possibility. And even one step can transform the emotional terrain.

Building Optimism Isn’t Pretend: Avoiding Toxic Positivity 

Let’s be clear: optimism is not pretending everything is fine. It’s not pushing away discomfort or slapping a smile over real struggle. “Just keep going.” “Everything will be fine.” “It’s not so bad.” That’s toxic positivity, and it actually blocks us from growth. True optimism begins with acknowledging what’s hard. It means engaging with reality as it is, including the pain, the fear, the grief. And then choosing to act anyway.

Like any meaningful exercise, optimism takes effort. It’s not about denying emotions—it’s about using them. When we listen to our feelings instead of avoiding them, we discover information. We find out what matters. And from there, we can do the hard, hopeful work of building solutions.

Whether you’re a parent, a team leader, a coach, or just someone trying to make a difference, modeling and teaching optimism can create a real ripple effect. It starts with us doing the work ourselves, and then sharing the possibilities.

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