See that - that was me seeing the sunny side of things. Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if we all saw our glasses as half-full? Speaking of, I need to refill my water glass since it is empty. Remember week one? Okay, back from a trip to the fridge with a very full glass of water. Let's move on to the week five challenge:
Week 5 - Develop an optimistic outlook
The author is challenging me (and us) to think more outwardly positive this week. I'm a pretty positive person to begin with... well, sometimes. The author give some suggestions for me (us) to combat those sometimes and turn it right around:
Use positive self-talk - There is something to the little angel and little devil who sit on your shoulder and whisper into your ear. Do you think athletes use negative self-talk or positive? Like Michael Jordan ever said to himself, "No I can't dunk." Yeah, showing my age but so what.... take a look at his career and where he started. No one ever came that far without having some positive self-talk. Check how you talk to yourself and keep the idea of keeping the words you say to yourself sweet. There are enough critics in the world -- you don't need another one. I also really like what Henry Ford said "Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right."
Use affirmations - "I'm good enough, I'm strong enough, and gosh-darnit people like me" LOL, I love SNL! Cheesy, but it works. Having a touchstone works - something that you can say to yourself to remind you. One of my favorite ways to start my day if I'm in a funk is by reciting Psalms 118:24 "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." We'll get to gratefulness in sec.... but isn't that verse the sum of how to start your day? What's your I think I can?
Have a Sense of Humor - I don't know how many times just sitting down and laughing about the predicament I have gotten myself into has saved me from a complete and total meltdown. Anyone who has been around me any amount of time knows what an utter and complete mess I am. Keeping a sense of humor about the situation definitely greases the wheels and helps relieve stress.
Practice Gratefulness - Going back to my verse, how many times do we take our situations for granted? The air we breathe, the roof over our heads, the food in our cupboards... a bit of gratitude goes a long way in this world. Besides Thanksgiving, when was the last time you honestly sat down and reflected on all of the things in your life?
So this is what we are working on this week... being positive, laughing and smiling more, and being grateful.
Oh, and thank you for reading ;)
Other resources:
Positive thinking: Reduce stress by eliminating negative self-talk: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/positive-thinking/SR00009
Optimism: http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/optimism
The book we're following: http://www.amazon.com/52-Small-Changes-Healthier-ebook/dp/B0056J4ER0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1325722556&sr=1-1
Jenn's blog: http://thewoogies.blogspot.com/search/label/52%20Small%20Changes
