A negative attitude becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that sets you up for future failures and disappointments. Your inner brat convinces you that you might as well not put forth much effort because nothing ever works out anyway. And guess what? When you don't try, you don't experience success.

Most pessimistic people don't realize that they can change their attitudes. It really is possible to train yourself to be more optimistic.

Optimists do not ignore problems. They just look at them differently, thinking in terms of opportunities rather than limitations. Also, research shows that optimistic people are less likely to be depressed, are more productive, and enjoy better health than their pessimistic counterparts. Even in war-torn countries, optimistic people have hope for future.

Optimism is a major inner-brat-buster. When you think in terms of constructive possibilities, you are confident. You can withstand more adversity and stress. You look to future with excitement rather than dread.

Here are some tips on increasing your level of hope and optimism:

1. Every night before going to sleep, write down three good things that happened that day. This may seem hokey, but research shows that people who do this on a regular basis sleep better and wake up in a better mood, ready to take on day.

2. When you find yourself giving up hope of success, challenge your thoughts. Ask yourself, "What's evidence that I will fail?" If you merely *believe* that you'll fail, that's not good enough. If you failed in past at a similar task, figure out what caused that to happen, and change factors over which you have some control.

3. Ask yourself, "What's worst thing that can happen?" Then make a plan for this worst thing. As a result, you won't be more discouraged. In fact, you'll feel more hopeful and confident.

Copyright 2004 Pauline Wallin, Ph.D.

Pauline Wallin, Ph.D. is a psychologist in Camp Hill, PA, and author of "Taming Your Inner Brat: A Guide for Transforming Self-defeating Behavior" (Beyond Words Publishing, 2001)

After you have written this list for your current job, try doing same thinking about previous jobs. If you recently graduated from college, use classes that were most stimulating and interesting for you, or projects you worked on with teams.

By making lists of motivating experiences from your last two or three jobs, you will hopefully begin to see patterns of projects and tasks that stand out. Analyze what you did before. Do you want more of this type of responsibility in your next job? The answers to these questions will give you answer to motivation question as well as possibilities for fulfillment in future jobs that have similar responsibilities.

Take this list of motivating experiences and script an answer to question, “What motivates you?” Scripting answers prepares you and also makes you sound more confident.

The Perfect Answer

There is no such thing as he “perfect” answer to this question. Your answer will be individual and based on your own experience and analysis. It will reveal to interviewer and to yourself what you thrive on in your work. Even if you are not asked this question, your pre-interview thinking, analysis, and scripting, will help you be more focused and in control of want you want in your next job. Knowing what you want will make you feel more confident about finding right job. ``````````````````````````````````````` Carole Martin is a celebrated author, trainer, and an interview coach. Her books, "Interview Fitness Training Workbook" and "Boost Your Interview IQ" (McGraw Hill) sold thousands of copies world-wide. Receive Carole's FREE job interview tips by subscribing to her monthly email newsletter at www.interviewcoach.com