[Quote of the Day] The Positive Thinker

By Professor Othmane Benmoussa
Vice President for Research, Innovation and Partnerships
Dean of the Euromed Polytechnique School

The Positive Thinker

“Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.”

Helen Keller

This quote holds, in my opinion, a very particular significance in the academic field and, more broadly, in this troubled period that Humanity is going through.

Helen Keller is an American author and lecturer (12 books and numerous articles to her name), the first disabled person (deafblind from the age of two) to obtain a university degree, specifically from Harvard in 1904.

It is accepted that "the first step on the path to success is to try," but we never truly experiment unless we hope, have a positive attitude, and believe that we can succeed.

If we start something without immediately believing that we will succeed, then we are not really trying. This recalls the attitude of addicts who cannot end their dependency because, in reality, they never truly believed they could.

When it comes to trying, we are talking about really trying while believing that, if we do our best, we have a chance of succeeding. Success is certainly not guaranteed, but if one does not believe one will succeed, then failure is assured.

So how does one stay positive and maintain the right attitude?

It is part of the character of a well-thinking individual. Furthermore, if, with quick wins, we experience periods of success, the level of self-confidence will improve and generate a highly constructive ripple effect.

As members of the leadership, heads of institutions, deans, directors, staff, and students, we must have and cultivate a "positive attitude." Indeed, if we do not believe that we will succeed, why should others follow us?

This is the hallmark of authentic leaders, of "transformational leaders"!

We absolutely must have confidence in ourselves, in our team, and in our surroundings to inspire them and increase their confidence.

One of the most decisive actions in our professional journeys is to support one's team and deploy all means to improve the habitus of each of us (according to Pierre Bourdieu) and, in some cases, to have to deploy significant efforts and increased energy to help team members, who initially brought negativity, perhaps sowed doubt, and consciously or unconsciously undermined the confidence of others, to transform themselves, and then, in turn, help their colleagues and followers to transform.

This does not mean that we do not allow people to raise problems or highlight risks. On the contrary, we must welcome it, as it could help us avoid obstacles and overcome the barriers that prevent us from succeeding.

Nevertheless, individuals who only see problems, constantly complain, and systematically doubt the direction to follow (often without valid reason) deserve to be supported so that we can collectively multiply our chances of success.

Ultimately, without resorting to theology and/or philosophy through thinkers like René Descartes in *The Passions of the Soul* or Ernst Bloch, at the opposite end of psychoanalysis, in *The Principle of Hope* (drawing on utopia and anticipatory consciousness), popular wisdom regularly uses proverbs like "hope keeps you alive."
In the manner of Helen Keller and many wise figures, let us therefore have hope, be positive, help one another, and together build a bright future.

Believe and Create!