Being enthusiastic and happy is a part of my daily routine. People ask me how I maintain such a positive attitude all the time, and I tell them it is just part of who I am. I love being happy.  I try to be confident in myself and make the best out of whatever situation I’m in. But I haven’t always been like this.

It was the beginning of 8th grade. Summer had just ended and I didn’t know many of the kids in my class. For the first two weeks I came to school, sat in my desk and left without saying anything, like a broken record with the sound missing.

I was scared to death of what others thought of me.

As I got further into the year, I realized I wasn’t happy so I made a complete change in my attitude. I made efforts to talk to people I didn’t know.  I didn’t let what others thought of me get in the way of me enjoying the class. I was happier. I was enthusiastic about life and it helped me become closer to true pleasure.  

When you’re enthusiastic you brighten the room or wherever you are. By being enthusiastic it makes others around you enthusiastic. Who knew that simply being happy could be such a good deed towards others?  Being enthusiastic will make you you feel more confident and will lift people’s spirits around you. Try it out. Dance a little bit in the hallway.

I believe this lifestyle creates pure joy and is all about not caring what people around you think.

Life will knock you down, but you must swing back at it harder. This mindset is the key to satisfaction, success, and passion. It gets people fired up. Being enthusiastic makes me happy in whatever situation I am in.

Enthusiasm also empowers the world’s most talented people. The best athletes, musicians, scientists, and actors are the ones who are enthusiastic. They are passionate about their job.  What they do makes them happy and excited.  

The UCONN women’s basketball team won 111 straight games which was an NCAA record. UCONN’s head coach Geno Auriemma made it clear that he looks for players with a great amount of competitive enthusiasm to recruit in a press conference. He mentioned finding the right enthusiastic athletes is getting much more challenging.

“Recruiting enthusiastic kids is harder than it’s ever been,” Auriemma said. “Because every kid watches TV and they watch [sports] and what they see is people just being really cool. So they think that’s how they’re going to act.”

In fact, Auriemma is so concerned about enthusiasm that he only plays the most passionate and energetic kids. The ones who truly love the game.

“So when I look at my team, they know this,” Auriemma said. “When I watch game film, I’m checking what’s going on on the bench. If somebody is asleep over there, if somebody doesn’t care, if somebody’s not engaged in the game, they will never get in the game.”  

Whether or not to be enthusiastic is up to you. This cheerful, spontaneous mindset has the power to get you through the difficult times in life. Life is all about how you react. You can choose to be sorrow and angry at the world during tough times or you can look for the light at the end of the tunnel. When facing battles, it’s important to realize what is going right in your life. Enthusiasm cannot survive in a negative environment. If you always think negatively and you view life as the glass half empty you will lose enthusiasm. You will not be happy.  If you’re in a bad situation, take something from it. View it in a positive way with enthusiasm and you will find happiness.  It’s all about the mindset.

You can choose the way you want to go through your life, I chose happy and enthusiastic!