Positivity Experiment: Day Four

Jachelle Overstreet — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:52:48 +0000

Four days in, and I’ll admit that I’m starting to feel the strain of staying positive. A few hours of missed sleep here, and some overdue school assignments there, and the bad mood train has been trying desperately to pull into the station. However, that hasn’t been the biggest surprise of this experiment so far. What has really shocked me was the amount of negativity that has snuck into my life without me even noticing it. Those snarky, sarcastic comments that I love making needed to be tossed out, as well as the eye-rolls and faces I make behind a particularly difficult co-worker’s back. There is a veritable cornucopia of these sorts of negative behaviors that I engage in on a daily basis, and I never even realized it.

That, of course, left me with the somewhat daunting task of breaking a habit that I hadn’t even been aware I had. So, how have I been managing? The glory of office supplies, my friends. I realized the majority of my not so positive thoughts and comments happened at work, (huge shock there, I know.) and I needed to do something quickly before this entire experiment went up in flames. So last night I grabbed a post-it and a sharpie marker and I drew a semi-ridiculous looking happy face. It looked a little something like this.

I wish I could say that the art quality was due to the fact that it was created in Microsoft Paint, but sadly, that’s about the extent of my drawing skills. The actual post-it doesn’t look much different. So, I drew my happy face, named him Francisco!, and stuck him up on my cubicle wall directly in my line of sight. From then on, whenever I felt a snide remark coming on, or my co-worker started to frustrate me, I just glanced at it and the silliness of the stupid thing would make me laugh, and I’d start to feel better again. It seems too simplistic to really work, right? Well, maybe it is. Maybe I just have the sense of humor of a three year old, but Little Francisco! kept me in check all night. Of course, I realize that single post-it isn’t going to work forever, but I think it put me on the right path. A little post-it can go a long way. That’s why I spent a few minutes at the end of my shift writing out anonymous notes for my co-workers. They had messages like, “you make coming to work fun” and “you’re an amazing mom.” With any luck my notes to them will give them the same kind of smiles today that Francisco! gave to me.

And now for five more things that help me chase negative thoughts away.

The gorgeous colors of the (finally) changing leaves.
AyePodcast, for providing me with amazing Scottish music every other week.
My roommate, for always being able to make me laugh no matter how bad of a mood I’m in.
An Iced Banana Carmel with whipped cream from The Coffee Bean.
Curling up on the couch with a good book, and getting so lost in the story that you completely forget where you are.

The Great Positivity Experiment: Day One

Jachelle Overstreet — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:13:17 +0000

The almighty Tabz (podcaster, social media junkie, and cult leader) recently posted a blog over at Social Media Junkie concerning the negativity, anger, and downright snippiness of social media and life in general. It seems to be everywhere, and she challenges her readers to change that. Now, I’ve always considered myself to be a “glass half full” kind of gal, but even the best of us can get a little grumpy from time to time. For me, personally, it’s usually around this time of the year. No, I’m not talking about the holidays. I’m talking the end-of-the-semester crabbies. Projects are due, there are final papers to spend all night on, and of course there is studying for exams…it’s enough to make any girl a little edgy. So, Tabz’s little experiment couldn’t have come at a more perfect time in my life. For the next seven days I’m going to stay focused and upbeat, and refuse to let my workload get the better of me.

It’s my belief that positive thinking is not a lack of negativity. A positive, by it’s very definition, has to have a negative. No, positive thinking is taking a negative thought or situation, and if you’ll allow me a cliche, looking for the bright side.

So, one of the things I’m going to try and do for the duration of this experiment is take a personal experience that I might normally take as a negative and find the positive.

Example One: Due to procrastination, poor planning skills, and good old fashioned bad luck, a few nights ago I found myself with the horrifying realization that I had not one, not two, but three papers all due the following morning. There was a story for my journalism class, a three page essay on a novel that I hadn’t read, and a nine page essay on yet another novel. (At least I read that one.)

Under normal circumstances I probably would have cursed the name of God, myself, and my professors, all the while simultaneously crying and kicking puppies. But with the positivity experiment in mind, I took a deep breath, told myself everything would work out, and sat down at my computer.

What did I learn from the entire experience? That I’m damned good at working under deadlines. Not only did I finish all three of those papers in a single night, but I turned out some really great work that I can honestly say I’m proud of. So there you have it. One of my darkest scholastic moments, and there’s still a positive side.

And finally, in the spirit of positivity, with each of these daily posts, I’m going to end things with a small list of things from the day that I found positive, or that just made me feel good in general.

I now have the last of all my final papers finished, printed, and ready to hand in.
I just discovered this beat boxing flutist on YouTube and he’s pretty awesome.
I made my new neighbor smile.
The thought that because of this post, and Tabz’s experiment, a few of you might be influenced to think a little more positively this week.

Kissy Th' Face!

Positivity Experiment: Day Four

The Great Positivity Experiment: Day One