Challenge
It is very easy to focus on what goes wrong during the course of a day. The media bombards us with negative stories, stories of horror and abuse. Television programmes, whether a soap or a documentary, often centre around bad things happening to people.
Listen to people around you as they speak about their journey to work, it’s rare to hear someone say ‘so the nice chap let me out at the junction’ or ‘she stopped and waved me across the road’, people will generally focus on the bad parts. This applies to all aspects of life, people will tell you about what the supermarket had run out of and ignore completely all the thousands of items that they had on display!
The more focus that you and I put on the bad parts, the more they become what you and I think about.
Change
Make a point on focusing on the good points instead, try it for 30 days.
Make a list of everything good that happens to you today. Everyone who is pleasant, every good deed you receive, it doesn’t matter how small or how large it is. Keep the list wherever you like, on pieces of paper in a jar, on your phone, on a noticeboard; anywhere that suits you. If you are artistic, you may wish to draw each item.
Each day, for 30 days, keep adding to the list, notice how many good things happen every day. As you write them down, say ‘thank you’ for each one. Some items will appear on the list several times, you may want to give them a star for each time, or write them down each time they happen; whatever appeals to you is the right thing to do.
The more you notice the good things happening, the more good things will happen.
For your turn, make sure you are the ‘something good’ in other peoples’ lives. Each small act of kindness that you show to someone, whether a relation, a friend or a stranger can make a huge difference to their day and life.
It’s very easy to become trapped in our own world and not to notice all the good things that happen, so take time to listen to people, to let them know you are interested in them and their concerns, their joys. Possibly, at first, people may be surprised as we are often too busy to really listen to others, to take time to be there for them.
As the saying goes, ‘what goes around, comes around’ and you will notice that they will repay you in joy and thoughtfulness. More good things to add to your list!
Very soon you will have a big list of good things that have happened to you. Keep the list handy so that you can look at it and feel the good feelings again when you relive the moment. Really put yourself back in the moment of joy, feel the feelings again, hear what was said, see what you saw and smile!
Achievement
Most new ideas take a while to become a habit, at the end of 30 days see how many good things you have written down, you’ll be amazed at how many good things were already in your life and how many more have come into it now you’ve started noticing them.
