Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Positive Reflections

I was reading an article in a magazine recently- it was five tips to making your mood more positive.

The number one idea in this article was this:  Every night before bed, take ten minutes or so and think of three positive outcomes from the day.

I thought to myself "Ok, I am going to give this a shot."
Some days it is very easy.  For instance, this past Sunday was "Duke lost, I won a free Papa John's Pizza and drink, the Giants won the Super Bowl."  They aren't anything earth shattering and in fact, they are pretty superficial.  However, these were three things that made me happy, even if it was just a little bit. Three positive things in a day where I mostly just lounged around lazily.  Where the alarm didn't wake me up when it was supposed to, where the coupons weren't great, where it was cold outside- these were the three things I chose to focus on.

Some days they are much more personal- Tim's Granny Irene is no longer on Death's doorstep.  Some days it's much more about money- receiving an unexpected check in the mail or getting a free Chicken Sandwich from Chick-fil-a.  It doesn't matter what it is.

The point is just to focus on three things that made you happy or just plain made you feel good.  A recipe being a success is just as positive as teaching your dog a new trick or getting a phone call from a friend you haven't heard from in a while.

It helps me focus on the good things before bed and if I have more than three positive outcomes, I revel in reminding myself of all five positive things. Or all ten.  Or all twenty.

However, it seems that every day has at least three good things that happen, no matter how small or insignificant they seem at the time.  So give it a try.  Take some time right before bed to think of what good has happened to you in a day, when it's too easy to focus on what went wrong otherwise.

The best positive outcome? I've been worrying less and sleeping better.

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