An Experiment in Positive Focus

A few days ago I decided to break a negative mood by designing a little experiment to remind myself to be positive. For twelve hours, I stopped once every hour (yes, I set a timer) to focus my thoughts on something positive, either a thought or an action.


I decided to post these thoughts to Facebook without telling anyone why I was posting them.I posted my first positive thought/action at approximately 12:19PM and posted my last positive thought/action at approximately 11:30PM.


The posts:


  • Positive Thought/Action Hour 1: I feel good that I stood up for something I believe this morning.
  • Positive Thought/Action Hour 2: I feel great that I finished writing my blog post about Writers on the Move and that I left positive comments on two other authors blogs today!
  • Positive Thought/Action Hour 3: When the power went out, I made good use of the time by altering my plans instead of lamenting what I couldn't do without power. :-)
  • Positive Thought/Action Hour 4: I can be strong and caring concurrently...
  • Positive Thought/Action Hour 5: Smiling makes me feel better even when no one can see it, so I'm smiling right now. :-)
  • Positive Thought/Action Hour 6: My thoughts are just as valuable as anyone else's.
  • Positive Thought/Action Hour 7: Living from a place of love invites incredible experiences and people into my life!
  • Positive Thought/Action Hour 8: Refused to let someone else's negative comment affect my positive attitude.
  • Positive Thought/Action Hour 9: If I do my part and let the rest go, things will work out the way they're supposed to - what I call proactive waiting.
  • Positive Thought/Action Hour 10: When I acknowledge and accept that I deserve better, I open my life to receive better.
  • Positive Thought/Action Hour 11: When I let my heart guide me, my words are more likely to connect with other people.
  • Positive Thought/Action Hour 12: Each moment I inhabit is a moment that matters.


I wanted to see what would happen if I set an intention to turn my attention to the positive at regular intervals during the day. Initially, I wanted to be able to pick some thought or action from the previous hour that was positive. Some hours it worked. Other hours, I had to actually stop and focus on positive thoughts to feel the positiveness.

The time I took to focus on positive thoughts made the hour between each posting feel more positive and productive even if I wasn't having conscious positive thoughts and/or performing overt positive acts. I felt more upbeat and productive.


The negative voice in my head pointing out all the things I hadn't accomplished and still needed to do grew quieter. The positive voice spoke quietly but with so much more authority than the negative voice. The positive voice reminded me of all I have to offer the world and gave me a break for not being perfect. The positive voice told me I deserve the best from all aspects of my life. The positive voice boldly told me I have the right to be treated as a top priority by myself and by others.


I turned around a negative mood created by caring too much about other people's attitude and behavior toward me with positive thoughts and actions that reminded me I am lovable, worthwhile, and worthy. I remembered that I matter, and that perhaps, just perhaps, those who can't see my worth enough to make me a priority shouldn't matter quite so much to me.


It goes back to something I said last year about happiness. Making my worth dependent on someone else gives them too much power, power that should belong to me.

T. L. Cooper is an author and poet whose work aims to empower and inspire through an exploration of the human condition. Her poems, short stories, articles, and essays have appeared online, in books, and in magazines. Her published books include a collection of short stories, Soaring Betrayal, her Silhouette Poetry Series, and a novel, All She Ever Wanted. She grew up on a farm in Tollesboro, Kentucky. She currently lives in Albany, Oregon with her husband and three cats.

Comments

  1. Johanna GarthJuly 27, 2012 at 9:10 AM

    What a great experiment. The power does belong to you. You just have to take it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. T. L. CooperJuly 27, 2012 at 12:01 PM

    Thank you, Johanna! It actually turned out to be kind of fun! And, yes, we must embody our own power! :-)

    ReplyDelete

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