Delusional Optimism

DISCLAIMER: I use LLMs and Generative AI tools every single day for almost everything on a personal and professional level. However, no AI whatsoever was used in any direct or indirect way to produce the work in this article. I love researching about philosophical concepts and writing about them; it's a passion, not a task. So, I decided to write this article like every previous one — the old-fashioned way: raw thoughts and personal research put into my words.

What if I told you that it is all in the mind — that whatever you believe you can achieve? Many of you will think that I am too "delulu", while others may claim that I am too optimistic about my potentials or that I am too confident regarding the brightness of the uncertain future; and that's exactly it. Delusional Optimism is the Secret behind navigating the uncertainties in life and getting what you want from it.

In this article, which is part of a series of articles around topics related to different psychological concepts, I dive into practical advice regarding a somewhat "cliché" concept: manifesting success. I am not fully there yet in terms of my definition of success, but man I cannot even count the number of things I achieved successfully using the mental framework described in this article.

Before getting into the core of the subject, I decided to introduce in this article for the first time the analysis strategy which I've been working on and using for almost 5 years now when it comes to writing, among other activities, which you can also find in my two previous articles about Stress and Happiness. I call it "The DUC Principle" a.k.a. Discover (What?), Understand (Why?), Control (How?). This is the first time I make it public, and I will be using it here to dissect the subject.

So, buckle up lads, our topic for today is: Delusional Optimism

Discover: What is Delusional Optimism?! And some other definitions…

Do you remember when you voted for that political candidate believing that he'll take your country out of corruption, but ended up just paying more tax? Or the day you met that guy in the club and told your girls' squad that "he's not like other guys" but ended up getting tossed on a random Thursday and were ghosted forever? Well, yea, you were very optimistic, and for sure very delusional, but most importantly, you were kinda dumb, not "delusionally optimistic".

Delusional Optimism is defined as convincing yourself that the outcomes of a feasible activity or attainable goal that can have a positive outcome on one's life had, are having, or will have a positive outcome on yours. The way the aforementioned examples do not fit the definition is simply because a corrupt politician or a toxic person can never have a positive outcome on anyone's life. So, let's give other examples that fit the definition to avoid confusion if it still the case. Being a candidate for the next municipality elections and believing that you will make it as the first female Mayor in your town is Delusional Optimism. Having a crush on the green flag girl next door that ticks all your boxes and believing you will end up marrying her is Delusional Optimism.

Delusional Optimism is not only about being confident that the greatest and most positive things in life will happen to you too. It is more than that. Delusional Optimism as a mental framework is also about you being able to attract positive outcomes onto your life. We will get to the "How" in the final chapter, but before doing so, let us first clear up a couple of more concepts to complete the jargon for this article.

The Law of Attraction — or what Gen Z call "Manifestation"

The Delusional Optimism mental framework or lifestyle incorporates de facto the Law of Attraction. By definition, this translates to the belief that thinking about something positive or negative attracts it and causes it to manifest positively or negatively, respectively, in your life. It suggests that by focusing on positive thoughts and feelings, individuals can attract positive outcomes and opportunities, and likewise for negative thoughts. This is well explained in the book "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne who explains that the Law of Attraction implies that what you think and feel in your mind determines what you'll attract concretely into your life. Accordingly, Delusional Optimism also means being able to manifest and attract positive outcomes onto your life.

Placebo (& Nocebo) Effect

I am pretty sure some of you saw this coming. Of course, one cannot write an article about Delusional Optimism without mentioning the famous Placebo and the unfamous Nocebo effects. The Placebo and Nocebo effects are not yet fully understood, but data from papers in medical sciences and psychology all show a direct correlation between believing a drug or therapy will heal you and that pill or session actually reducing sickness and pain [1, 2]. Regardless of your background, if you found this article, you most definitely have heard of or read about instances when treatments without active ingredients reduce the pain in patients. In fact, Placebo effects constitute a major part of treatment success in medical interventions [1]. What's scary is the reverse case: if you believe that a treatment won't work on you, data have shown that indeed the treatment will be less useful for your specific case. Even worse, if you are convinced based on some political ideology for instance that a vaccine is harmful for you, it will probably harm you! As such, the Placebo effect goes hand in hand with the Delusional Optimism philosophy; and now that the definition is cleared, we will use it in the "Why" and "How" chapters.

Pollyanna Principle

One last definition in the books, the Pollyanna Principle. Actually, it is funny because just up until 2 weeks ago, I have never ever heard of this term. It was after a discussion with an old friend over some drinks that she mentioned that concept which came to her mind the following day after telling her about my will to write this article — and indeed, it fits the article correctly. Why? Because the Pollyanna Principle in psychology describes our brain's tendency to systematically remember positive past experiences more accurately and vividly compared to unpleasant memories. It also describes our mental inclination towards using more positive words in conversations rather than negative ones. It is a perfectly human mental bias, that takes its name from Eleanor H. Porter's novel "Pollyanna", whose protagonist embodies a practice of having an optimistic outlook on life — finding something to be glad about in every single situation [3]. The Pollyanna Principle and Delusional Optimism are intertwined, but the fine line between the two consists in the following: The Pollyanna Principle is a common mental bias linked to our mind favoring positive thinking, especially when it comes to past events, while Delusional Optimism is a secret trick that will help attract positivity concretely in the present or future.

In summary, Delusional Optimism builds upon the Pollyanna Principle, and employs the power of the Law of Attraction and the Placebo Effect, in order for you to get the most out of your Life.

Understand: Why is it that imagination dictates reality (and vice versa)?

Oscar Wilde wrote that "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life", I'd also add that "Reality imitates Imagination far more than Imagination imitates Reality".

Truth is, your brain cannot actually make a clear difference between what you think is true and what is really true. At the end of the day, what we experience as "real" is a perception of the physical world built in our brains. Have you ever had a dream so true that you couldn't distinguish it from reality? Have you ever thought of a person or a word, than have heard or seen that person or this word the same day? Delusional Optimism works the same way. The brain can anchor an idea or thought that is fed to it, intentionally or not, and would judge the world around it temporarily, biased by the weight of this anchor. That reminds me of the book "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman — great book by a great thinker. RIP Prof. Kahneman.

But what is happening in the brain when applying Delusional Optimism? Let's go back to the Pollyanna Principle and Placebo Effect to search for an answer.

Motivation, Anticipation, and Reward

From a neurobiological perspective, the Placebo Effect triggers a complex chain of reactions in the brain that goes beyond clinical applications. In fact, studies show that not only does the Placebo Effect play a role in stress modulation and control of pain (since it triggers endogenous opioid release acting as a drug), but it also regulates hormones and activates additional neurotransmitter pathways, notably dopamine pathways which are linked to the brain's reward system and motivation [4]. Actually, looking at the Pollyanna Principle, when you anticipate a positive outcome, the dopaminergic pathways in the brain are activated, reinforcing its preference for seeking experiences associated with positive feelings [3]. This generates over time a sort of a positive feedback loop in the brain; whereby reminiscing good feelings triggers good feelings, which makes positivity feel very natural with time to your mind. That is how your mind attracts positivity by concentrating on positive thoughts. Speaking of dopamine; I want you to close your eyes and think about your favorite cold beverage — feeling the chills from the first sip as you hear the ice cubes touching your glass cup… do you feel your mouth watery yet? That's dopamine in action — a neurotransmitter that arises from an ancient, evolutionary conserved region near the brain [5]. Your brain actually craves positivity, and just like that fresh iced juice you thought about, your brain cannot tell the difference between your abstract thoughts and concrete matter.

If you ever get the time (and courage) to read the book "Behave" by Robert Sapolsky (fantastic book — hadn't finish it yet for it is way too complex to digest and fathom), you will learn many interesting facts about the brain and how Humans behave, but specifically, you will discover that dopamine is less about reward than about its anticipation. However, dopamine is not just about reward anticipation, but more interestingly, dopamine fuels the goal-directed behavior needed to gain that reward [5]. It binds the value of a reward to the resulting work. In other words, Sapolsky explains that "dopamine is not about the happiness of reward, it is about the happiness of pursuit of reward that has decent chances of occurring". Accordingly, if you trick your brain into believing you have high chances of winning in life, it will immediately start gambling towards winning against all odds. Why is dopamine key here? Because the frontal cortex gets the metaphorical motivation to do harder things via the dopaminergic reward system in the brain [5]. In short, the brain behaves in complex ways indeed, but one thing is for sure: positivity creates a positive feedback loop in the brain that helps towards maximizing your motivation and desire to get where you feel most satisfied. As Bob Proctor — the businessman known for his reliance on the Law of Attraction to achieve success — stated gracefully: "our thoughts control our feelings; our feelings control our actions". Fun fact about him, he read the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill at 26 years old — his first book — and it changed his life forever. More about that book and its importance in the last chapter.

As I went deeper into the rabbit hole of Delusional Optimism and the neuroscience behind it, I stumbled on a very nice article that summarizes the effects of Manifestation and Positive Self-Talk on our brains [6]. Funny enough, what I am trying to do here in my article is a more in-depth analysis of what she summarized nicely in hers. Just as mentioned earlier, the author explains that repeating positive self-affirmations can "hack" our dopaminergic pathways by creating a positive feedback loop that reinforces the belief of higher strength and success [6]. What I find interesting is her adding that confirmation/positivity bias is related to the Reticular Activating System (RAS) — the neural pathway that filters sensory inputs and decides what information should reach awareness; such that repeated positive affirmations reinforce a growth mindset, reshaping our brain functions to permit us to do more of what pushes us to grow. In other words, self-affirmation alters the brain network into attracting success. That's why pessimistic people are generally unlucky, because if you believe you are unlucky or that success won't come to you, not only you won't experience success, but even if you do, you won't even notice it.

Legal Steroids

Nonetheless, there are still some parts of the brain that aren't yet fully understood; and it seems that the dopaminergic pathway activated via Delusional Optimism do more than healing our cells and psyche, they literally "dope" our body and mind, subconsciously boosting our capacities to achieve more beyond simple motivation. For instance, studies have been conducted regarding the Placebo Effect in general and the effect of positive thinking on physical activities, such as exercise, vision, sleep, among others [2, 7]. In one study, a group was instructed to imagine their finger pushing at maximum power against a sensor that measures strength via a kinesthetic imagery approach rather than simple visualization. Compared to the control group that did no training, the group which visualized the exercise before doing it showed 35% improvement, while another group that actually trained physically for the exercise during the same period showed a 53% improvement compared to the control group that did nothing [7]. The paper explains that the improvement in muscle strength for the visually trained group was accompanied by a significant increase in electroencephalogram-derived cortical potential, which is related to the control of voluntary muscle contractions, proving that mental visualization enhances the cortical output signal, which drives the muscles to a higher activation level, increasing physical strength [7]. What you believe, you achieve. In another interesting study on sleep and cognitive functioning, participants in the study who were told that they had experienced below average sleep quality the night before, performed worse on the performance test given, irrespective of how they actually slept, and vice versa, when they were informed that they had experienced above average sleep quality, they performed better on another test, regardless of how they felt they had slept [2]. This is typically the Placebo and Nocebo Effects in action, whereby our mindset determines our physiological abilities and limits. The paper explains this phenomenon according to two hypotheses, coming from the findings of Stewart-Williams & Podd [8]:

• Expectancy: Performance and motivation are improved by anticipating positive outcomes and are degenerated by expecting the negative [2, 8].
• Classical Conditioning: The symptoms known from former positive or negative experiences are evoked by perceiving positive or negative outcomes, respectively [2, 8].

Above & Beyond Natural

Finally, even when it comes to mystical beliefs and superstition, we know that what the fortune teller says will eventually happen or when we believe that the Evil Eye will bring us a curse after an envious person gives us a malevolent glare. How come? Well, not because the lady with a crystal ball can see the future nor because your envious neighbor will fill you with pejorative energy. Instead, it's all about beliefs. Optimism and Pessimism are reinforced by one's beliefs, such that anticipating a great future will frame your mind towards success but stressing prematurely about an accident will amplify your perception of that event's aftermath when it occurs. As such, the chances of a positive or negative phenomenon of happening in your life are directly proportional to your conviction about their occurrence, as you shift your brain's focus towards those phenomena.

Not in the same class, although considered fictional for some, but Prayer as well alters reality in the same way. We have seen countless of documented cases of prayer-associated healings, notably through Christian Saints in Lebanon. Indeed, Believers do not fall in the same category as merely delusional mortals, but we know for sure that whether it's God directly intervening through a Miracle or your subconscious mind altering your consciousness, prayers do bend your brain's structure, reducing stress and increasing confidence about success. Delusional Optimism works in the same way, rewiring your brain to attract luck and success, and probably, if you believe in God, you will get an additional guarantee that you will achieve what you truly desire. Was Delusional Optimism what early Gnostic Christians meant by Gnosis — the hidden knowledge that they believed will permit them to reach Salvation through Enlightenment from within? God knows! But I'll leave you to do your personal research about those intriguing tales, as we dive into the practical strategies towards getting what you want in life.

Control: How to achieve what you want in life (and how not to)?

CAUTION: So, you're telling me there is a method to achieve what you want in life? Yea, but there is a catch. Anything stated below will NOT work unless you truly BELIEVE whatever was explained above. The caveat is that Delusional Optimism resembles the Schrödinger Effect, whereby Delusional Optimism only works if you fully believe it does.

You were told that when you deeply want something, the Universe bends reality to give you what you want. Nice. But is it that easy? To achieve what you want in life, you should just be delusionally optimistic about the future, and that's all? Well, it's that simple, really. If you're not convinced yet, here is a list of practical techniques with concrete examples on how Delusional Optimism can be used and how you can control your destiny.

Think and Grow Rich — The Code of the Extraordinary Mind

I've read the books "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and "The Code of the Extraordinary Mind" by Vishen Lakhiani during the COVID19 lockdown period somewhere between 2020 and 2021, and from that moment I knew I am destined to a great future — and so are you if you truly believe so.

If you search for these books online, many reviews, especially on reputable platform like my favorite — Goodreads, talk badly about the authors, claiming them to be charlatans or mere businessmen wanting to make more money. Well, for sure Napoleon Hill bluffed a little and Vishen Lakhiani is building MindValley — a business empire around well-being tools and strategies, but whether you know how to read between the lines and only keep the moral behind their words or not, that is a YOU problem. Let me give you a hand.

Napoleon Hill explains that in order to attract money, you have to first have a burning DESIRE for these riches. You need to deeply want something to be able to get your brain to achieve it. You need to start by defining exactly the amount of money you want and when do you want to get it. You also need to have FAITH that you will for sure have it, not only, but also perceive yourself already having it in your mind. Napoleon Hill said: "conduct yourself just as you would, if you were ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MATERIAL THING WHICH YOU ARE DEMANDING". You need to repeat it in your head over and over again every single day until you achieve it. And for it to transition from your imagination to your hand, you have to get a PLAN of action and eliminate procrastination [9]. Your subconscious mind will already be framed into working for what you want to achieve, so you must help it by acting with persistence, and only then will the Universe respond to your desires and give you what you not only want but also deserve. If that sounds like pure BS to you, no need to continue reading further. After reading this book, I put a target for the end of the year, a specific amount of money and a career destination. I tried Hill's trick, convinced that it would work. I remember very well the day I received the acceptance and scholarship approval for my Master's degree; I was on my way to get my first shot of the COVID19 vaccine. I wasn't surprised or even super excited when I got the notification. I was expecting it, it was about time. I received the exact amount I manifested in scholarship value (for 2 different programs) and the career path I desired. One of my dear friends also manifested his PhD and current job the same way. When he was doing his internship, he imagined himself every single day walking in the laboratory as a doctorate student and not just an intern. He deeply wanted it, and he got it. It didn't end there. After finishing his PhD, he said to himself that he wants to rest for 6 months before even thinking about work. He needed some rest, and knowing how much of a hard worker he is, he definitely needed it. He refused an immediate job offer after his PhD; he knew he got time. 6 months later, precisely, he signed his contract in the 1st company he applied to, in the research field he wanted. Does this always work? Probably not. Should that stop you from believing it will or make you doubt it at all? Absolutely not. Napoleon Hill wrote "if you pray for a thing, but have fear as you pray, that you may not receive it, or that your prayer will not be acted upon by Infinite Intelligence, your prayer will have been in vain […] the mind could produce ANYTHING THE MIND COULD CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE". As mentioned in the book "Secret", to manifest your dreams, you must ask, believe, and then receive. As we jump into another book, if you understood the concept of the Law of Attraction, you should by now know that OF COURSE those who believe that books like "Secret" and "Think and Grow Rich" are written by mere charlatans won't ever achieve the success promised in these books!

Looking at it from a different angle, Vishen Lakhiani's journey started when he discovered the Silva Method — the meditation technique that is claimed to provide its adopter with relaxation and clairvoyance. Victim of the "dot-com bubble" as a fresh software engineering grad and immigrant in the States, he got a first job in telemarketing, barely making some money from commission. It was then that he discovered the Silva Meditation, and was able to access higher mental states, listen to his inner-voice and trust his intuition, which helped him achieve the success he indulged today. Young Lakhiani used to run his finder down the listing in the Yellow Pages, and only call the number after he feels a sort of "impulse" telling him to stop. This technique helped him close more deals and reach all-time-best sales per week every week after [10]. Lakhiani explains in his extraordinary book that "something interesting happens when you give your mind a clear vision. Whether the goal is a means goal or an end goal — your mind will find a way to bring it to you. This is why I say that to the untrained mind, goal setting can be dangerous. You could end up somewhere you don't want to be" [10]. That's it. When you have a CLEAR VISION about what you want to achieve as a goal, becoming self-aware of your abilities and dreams, your brain will give you the map and strategy to get where you want. Through Lakhiani I was introduced to his meditation technique — The 6-Phase Meditation — which I followed every morning for two years straight. This is how I was able to precisely define and plan what I achieved today, including the scholarship, relationship, specialization, and career I desired. I advise you to have a look at that meditation when you have the time [11], but in summary it goes like this:

1. Connection: Picturing the people and places you love. It is important to feel well surrounded.
2. Gratitude: Applying gratitude for a handful of things you have. Frame your mind to focus on positivity in your life.
3. Forgiveness: This is a hard one. Imagine yourself forgiving someone who did you wrong, or someone forgiving you for the wrong you did. Remove negative charges and grudges in order to keep space for positivity in your mind.
4. Perfect Future: With all this in mind, you need to VISUALIZE your future goals, and live them as if you achieved them. Don't hold yourself back and imagine what a perfect life looks like in every detail.
5. Perfect Day: Not only on the macro, but PLAN your day on the micro, imagining it going perfectly, aligning with your goals.
6. Blessing: If you believe in a Supreme Being or God, ask them for their blessings through prayer. If not, ask the Universe for its blessings through divine energy. It is important as mentioned earlier to feel protected and heard by a higher power to keep your mind framed for success.

The 6-Phase Meditation had a huge impact on my growth, and I hope you can make use of it too to get what you want in life. It is a technique that fits perfectly in the Delusional Optimism framework, for it brainwashes you (in a good way) to be optimistic about your present and future to above delusional levels.

Confidence and Conviction

Back when I was a student, I used to literally shake whenever I was put in a public speaking situation. My stress and lack of confidence were killing my chances of success. I used to prepare for days and still tremble presenting in front of a group of more than 3 people. I've tried all the usual techniques you've probably heard of, even thinking about the worst-case scenario — which helped a lot by the way, but nothing worked as much as this strategy: delusion. I know that I am a master of the subjects I present, and I know that the worst thing that can happen is people laughing at me then forgetting about it after 25 minutes; the only thing missing was for me to be delusional about the outcomes, believing that I will rock the presentation and will succeed. "Fake it till you make it", they say. That over-confidence and delusional conviction about success was the missing piece I needed to get over my fear of public speaking. "Where attention goes, energy flows". Move your mind's attention from fear to delusion, and you'll achieve things you could have never imagined. Being delusionally confident and optimistic about future outcomes is as important as preparing and working hard for your goals, and I would go one step further, saying that Delusional Optimism should be a pre-requisite to action preparation. Know before you begin that what you are doing will result in great deals.

My grandpa told me once a real story about a friend of his who won the lottery or some gambling game. The guy told his friends that he saw in his dreams that the winning number would be the product of two numbers — let's say 6 and 7 (for the Gen Z among you) — which he thought was, say, 56, a completely different value. He was convinced that this is the answer and eventually won. That of course is pure luck, but some of it comes from delusion. The guy was convinced that he will win, convinced that he knew the number, and convinced about his basic mathematical skills. He also took the risk without overthinking and overcomplicating things. You see, they say that C-students succeed in life better than A-student. Well, this is partially correct, but what is true is that in general, C-students have a higher risk appetite than A-students, pushing them to be delusional about winning and take more risks; whereas the majority of straight-As tend to overthink their decisions and seek perfectionism, ending up in a vicious stagnation loop; and stagnation is death. It took me a while to get over my overthinking patterns and perfectionism tendencies, and lean towards Delusional Optimism when thinking about the future. You need to be delusional about long-term, sustainable success in order to be able to achieve it. As a reminder, you need to put in the work in addition to applying Delusion Optimism, because action is important to beat stagnation. Being solely delusional and positive without putting in the work won't get you anywhere serious. I would also add that the secret is to always keep wanting more than what you have ever achieved. Be grateful for what you have, but never be fully satisfied in Life, because stagnation is death.

Echoes in the mind

As you have seen heretofore, thoughts have a powerful effect on the mind. What you feed as thoughts into your mind echoes in there. The Stoics were right after all. Marcus Aurelius wrote in "Meditations": "The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts". Accordingly, it is very important to filter what goes into your mind. Always think positive, and never surrender your mind to bad thoughts. Most importantly, do not let regret or fear of failure haunt you. Remember, whatever you do, regret is always worse than failure. Consequently, as the smart businessman and multimillionaire Gary Vee always recommends, avoid dwelling on past decisions, and avoid letting the fear of failure stop you, because one day you'll regret it for sure. The obstacles that obstruct your way to success when seeking after Delusional Optimism to get what you want are mostly fictitious barriers in the brain. Do not let bad thoughts get into your mind and block your way to success. Negativity is a poison to the brain, and it only leads to death. As Robert Greene noted in this incredible book "The 48 Laws of Power", Law #10 clearly says: "Infection: Avoid the unhappy and unlucky". This is the only law in the book without a real rebuttal! Letting bad thoughts and negative energy from people who always feel as a victim get into your head will block the ability of Delusional Optimism to act in your favor. Negativity is contagious, so avoid letting it infect your brain. As such, not only you must avoid negative people, but you must also avoid comparing yourself to others. Again, the brain cannot tell the difference between what you think and what you have. If you think less of yourself in comparison to someone else, your brain will be chained to that low level and won't be able to push you to get where you want. This reminds me of an old pal back during the time I used to practice football over 10 years ago. His name was Fouad, but his nickname was "Of-Of". Of-Of was a great striker, but his secret was beyond regular training. Of-Of revealed it to the coach, explaining how he tells and repeats a phrase to himself every time he is getting towards the opponent's net just before scoring: "you can do it Of-Of!". His secret is to repeat to himself that he is a great football player. Just pure Delusional Optimism.

Brian Tracy, the famous motivational speaker back when it was a real thing, advised in a speech circa 1995 to stay away from negative, cynical, and lazy people to avoid being like them, taking their attitudes and habits. Instead, he advocated to associate yourself with people you look up to. He went further in another instance, saying that "positive emotional energy is the key to health, happiness, and wellbeing. The more positive you are, the better your life will be in every area". In late 2024, I got into a heavy Burnout that took me months to overcome. Panic attacks every single day as well as mental and physical drainage. At first, nothing worked, not even cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The only thing that got me out of it and drove me 10x past that horrible state was focusing on positive thoughts and let them echo in my mind. It is all in the mind; and Delusional Optimism will not only heal your depressed brain, but also strengthen your chances to achieve success and happiness beyond what you can normally accomplish. Regardless of external events and wearisome news, train your mind to focus on Delusional Optimism and always believe that the future will be bright. Marcus Aurelius wrote "You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength". Irrespective of the situation you are in, always keep positive thoughts in your head and surround yourself with people who motivate you. However, beware of letting bad thoughts wonder in your mind and stay away from negative people who want to put you down [1].

Practical Routines

Enough talking, here is a list of practical advice you can follow to concretely deploy Delusional Optimism in your life.

• Prayer: As stated earlier, prayer has a key role in attracting positivity into your life. For instance, if you're a Christian, go to the Church on Sundays. Try to make it a habit. After the Communion, close your eyes, show gratitude for what you have, and pray for success, wealth, and good health, for you and your loved ones. Trust me, it works.
• Meditation: Meditation is so underrated and widely misunderstood. Every morning before you wake up or every night before you sleep, consecrate 20 minutes of time to get into a peaceful, meditative state. Whether it's through guided meditation or just a simple breathing exercise, let your brainwaves vibrate at the correct frequencies to calibrate your brain cells into attaining success.
• Journaling: Some people refer to journaling as a way to set goals and track performance. Others use it document their life so that they can go back and reminisce the past. In your case, it's much easier. Grab a piece of paper and write down 5 to 7 tasks you want to complete today, and 5 to 7 items you want to achieve this year. Be delusional, be optimistic, and most importantly, be verbal. Write exactly what you want, read that out loud, and materialize your subconscious desires into the real world.
• Vision Boards: A nice example of Delusional Optimism in action is designing vision boards, whereby you grab pictures of goals and places you want to reach, divide them into say 3 categories, and put them in a physical or digital frame which you can observe and contemplate every day; kitchen wall or phone wallpaper — your call. In my case, I have a small-sized Porsche 911 GT3 sitting on my desk, which reminds me that one day I'll have it parked in my garage. Let your brain see the beauty of your desired goals and let it imagine itself having them already.
• Contracts: If you're the type of person who likes things stricter, a friend of mine taught me a trick whereby he writes a "moral contract" on a piece of paper whenever there is a task or goal he really wants to achieve, so that his word of promise to himself becomes a sacred contract he cannot break. That way, he tricks his mind into having no option but to achieve what is written on the paper.
• Positive self-talk: Whenever in a difficult situation, mental or physical, engage in positive self-talk. You're in the gym, imagine the muscle gains and tell yourself that you can see progress. You're playing tennis, tell yourself that you will score a perfect serve. And most importantly, never let anyone make fun of your goals; and of course, take your goals seriously and never as a joke.

These, my friend, are the practical routines you can use to materialize Delusional Optimism. Got some more? Share them in the comments.

Rebuttal

I intentionally wanted to add this section so that those of you who didn't follow carefully would be reminded after reading this entire article about the subtilities related to Delusional Optimism. In fact, delusion alone without action has minor effects. Without solid skills and a plan of action, desire and faith alone cannot make miracles. As my friend explained eloquently in an example: even if you believe deeply that you can fly, and as much as you imagine it in your head, do not try to jump from a building. Ignoring warning signs and red flags just to stay delusionally optimistic can sometimes worsen the outcomes [3]. Do not expect to get into a street fight in the Ghetto and believe you can get out intact. Too much delusion will disappoint you. Life is unfair (and that's the beauty of it). Your goal is to maximize attracting good luck, but you must be pragmatic in life. Balance is key.

Finally, be careful not to focus too much on winning through Delusional Optimism in every single situation as it can sometimes distract your mind from the techniques and strategies needed to actually win. This is typically in duels, where focus is so important. Being too concentrated on the win all the time will backstab you whenever you hit a small bump in the road. Actually, sometimes losing a bit on the micro level is important and necessary so that wins would taste better on the macro. Let them occasional instances of "unsuccessfulness" occur as long as you're mindful about them. Just like Dopamine, you need to reset the baseline in order for you to feel the full pleasure at its peak.

Final Thoughts

If you have read through all this text; congratulations, you read 6000 words of useful information today. I just want you to keep one lesson from this article: Life is Good; what you believe, you achieve; and in everything you do, remember to live a little — for you got one life, make it count.

"It takes me hours to craft minutes-worth of words which will hopefully inspire you for days, months, or years!" — Elio Gereige

References:

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