An experiment-7 days of positivity (day 1)

Naren who is a  motivational speaker at Alma Mater sent me a beautiful mail yesterday. It had a very powerful message about what to choose to focus on. It is nothing new--we all know it. But the way Naren illustrated it with personal examples and anecdotes made all the difference.

It set me thinking about the 'Gratitude Journal' which again many of you must have heard of. It also made me think about 'Laws of Attraction' and positivity both of which have been discussed so much especially after Rhonda Byrne's 'Secret' became a huge success.

People tell me that I am an extremely positive person and they feel happy to be around me. I too have my down (sometimes very down) moments, trust me! It is just that I am a fighter and I bounce back quick and refuse to give up without a good fight.(and I am going through a very tough time right now)

Focussing on the positives does help not only in emotional happiness but also helps in living richer lives. The thing is, it is easier said than done. When things are going wrong, or when something does not quite go the way you want it to, is it really possible to focus on 'positives'?

The answer is 'Yes'. It can be done but sometimes we just need to force ourselves a bit. The good thing is positivity multiplies.When you feel happy from the inside, you make those around you happy. It is a snowball effect. And the simple act of writing down or declaring what you feel grateful for, does help. (Because it forces you to think "hey yes--that is a good thing indeed")

So here is an experiment:
For the next seven days I am going to do a post every single day, focussing on 5 things which made me happy or made me feel grateful. I would like you to join me in this experiment.

I would like you to write 5 things which made you feel good or happy.

On days where there is nothing to feel good about, one can just be grateful for a cup of tea. The point here I am trying to make is 'Life need not be perfect for it to become great' and by changing our focus we can indeed change how we feel.

Here are my five things which made me feel grateful today:

1. This mail which I got from a good friend  really made me feel great. It led to my ribbing him about what a big liar he is and he retorted back saying that I never think about him and only he does. (which I totally deny. See Mayank--I even admitted it on my blog!) :-) Finally it led to a nice phone call  too :)


2.  A bit of the  mental work of my second book got done as a very close friend and I skyped and discussed it and took it apart, bit by bit. It gave me a rejuvenated enthusiasm to work on it. (It is in editing stages and  it is a very painful process)

3. Got a lovely long mail from Reflections. where she said some things which made a lot of sense. I felt grateful to have got it.

4 .I was able to witness my daughter's Sports day. It meant a lot to her and even though it meant my heavily cutting into my work time, I was glad to be there for both sessions. (They had two sessions morning and afternoon which effectively meant one whole working day) The joy on her face was worth it.

5. I bought myself a set a charcoal pencils. It is the first time I will be trying to use charcoal pencils instead of sticks. (I had a hard time trying to sharpen them--but hey-I am supposed to focus on positives here!)

This was harder than I thought! I had to really think to pick out five things.

Are you in this with me? If so leave your comments here. (or if you are doing it on your blog link back to this post)

It is tough, but trust me it will be worth it. I am feeling great already!
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Current Mood Video:  Que sera sera