February 4

To have great days, it helps to be a tough-minded optimist. Tough doesn‘t mean swaggering, sneezing, hard-boiled. The dictionary definition is a masterpiece: “Tough—having the quality of being strong or firm in texture, but flexible; yielding to force without breaking, capable of resisting great strain without coming apart.” And Webster defines optimism as “the doctrine that the goods of life overbalance the pain and evil of it, to  adverse aspects, conditions, and possibilities, or anticipate the best possible outcome; a cheerful and hopeful temperament.”