1-31-11 6:37 pm Verbs of Being

Good things result from positive thinking. This I believe. Replacing negative words with positive statements, and avoiding exception words like "but" support my positivity efforts. And...I continue identifying new methods for supporting my positive thinking. Here's a new one: replacing verbs-of-being with more articulate verbs.

Need reminding of which words comprise the list of Verbs of Being in the English language? I still command a memorized list from sixth grade:

be, is, am, are,
was, were, being, been,
should, would, could,
have, has, had,
may, can,
might, must,
shall, will,
do, did, does

That particular arrangement of the words helps me say the entire list. To me it shows their relationship to one another. My best friend in sixth grade refused to let us sleep during one slumber party until everyone memorized it. Thank you Pam. You changed my life.

All of life feels like a learning opportunity to me. So, I feel excited to try a verbal diet free of those words. Compare these statements: "I'm tired", versus "I feel tired". "I have a headache", versus "My head hurts". "I was going to..." versus "I planned to...". "That is a good idea", versus "That idea involves success on several levels." Clarity comes to mind when I compare them. Something about the words "feel", "planned", "involves", and "hurts" lend voice and deeper meaning to the statements.

I notice that removing verbs of being from my speech clarifies my meaning. The thought occurs that when I use verbs of being, the message feels more declarative, and less flexible. Statements also seem more vague, minuse the investment of thought required to come up with another, more descriptive verb. Ultimately, I think more before I speak on this verbs-of-being-free regimen. I appreciate that benefit, greatly!

Three words most commonly able to supplant those vague, declarative verbs of being: feel, seem, and need. And on closer examination, those words indicate a...state of being. "Feel", "seem", and "need" have more voice and meaning than any verb of being.

So, it looks like this journey toward positivity brings to into focus clarity for me. I think I feel specificity and ownership creeping into my thinking and improving it. Today I met with a co-worker who routinely demonstrates clear thinking. While I know she values my ideas it often seems to me that her thought processes and communication show more clarity than my own. In our meeting today that dynamic seemed changed for the better. I felt less inferior, more up to the task of sharing my thoughts and working with her. And for the first time this year I feel confident that we both walked away from the table with the same ideas about all the content, meaning, and implications of our schemes.

Thinking and speaking more clearly. It sounds good to me!

1-29-11 6:04 pm When it All Fails

You know, reading my recent blogs, I notice a distinct lack of the "b" word. Very good. And yet, negative words such as "don't", and "no" or "not" do present themselves. How can those words share a positive message? How might they denote positive thinking? They surely seem unable to.

So, am I really being that positive? Does it matter? I think so. There is one situation in my life when thinking positive failed me. Maybe it failed me. We so loved having Anne. We saw several children populating our family, regardless of how long "secondary infertility" haunted us. Regardless of the drugs, the shots, the inseminations, the money, oh, the money, we saw red every month - in more ways than one.

Positive-thinking. That's what I engaged in, between cyclic heartbreaks. I prayed, visualized, convinced myself, fantasized. The promise of an additional bundle of joy justified expenditures beyond means, continual efforts toward an elusive goal.

Our hearts bled. About 24 months into this sorrowful journey, we re-carpeted the town-house in which we lived at the time. In a moment of desperation I crayoned a huge, poetic plea to the universe to please create an additional life within our midst. We wanted another baby. I wanted to do better with the next infant (as if we'd done something wrong with Anne, which so far it seems we have not. She continues to thrive). Colorful soy words advertised my plea with the universe, to be covered and kept by new carpet and padding, soon.

Then my Dad came to our place for a visit; I'd momentarily forgotten my missive. That was until a mortifying flood of light filled the hall from the door he opened. And he chuckled. Who knows why? Humiliation drained my manners, and I slammed the door to what would have been our second baby's nursery.

We long ago abandoned our infertility journey. We knew we'd already stretched our finances beyond capacity - well beyond it. We began to resent the fruitless cycle of drugs, shots, inseminations, and regular menses. What loveless way was this to bring life into the world? We reconciled ourselves. Anne would be our only shot at good parenting. After 60 months, it seemed time to make the best of it, as we'd been trying to do all along. The stakes seem, not necessarily higher, rather, maybe just now more concentrated.

So, did positive thinking really fail us then? Hard to say. We've had several family pets who failed to work well in our household for various reasons. Maybe one being is all we're capable of. Maybe we could handle more.

I do remember, somewhere between 9 and 1,000 centimeters dilation, and after a few pulmonary complications for me, thinking: "Never again". Maybe I did it to myself. Maybe it's my fault for wishing no more births on us. Who knows?

Here's what I do know: We are pretty darn good parents. Anne is well-blessed. We have one fortunate family. For whatever reason, we have one child, and for that we are grateful. What if we'd been barren all our lives? And there's more to life besides children. We look forward to the future.

I can write, leaving out all negative words. What impact could it have on my life, and the lives of those around me? We shall see. Heartbreaks happen. And maybe positive thinking will help. So my challenge at this point: write minus all negative words. We'll see how it goes.

1-27-11 6:00 pm Honor

We all need it: recognition. Honoring someone validates them, and gives the honorer an opportunity for feeling privileged to share recognition. OK, in English: Today my sweet, loving, very-wonderful-husband brought me another perfect cup of coffee, to my happy surprise.

He has to have the forethought to make it at the right time, transport it to school with our daughter, actually park and come into school, then make his delivery. The other day, you may remember, he did this in my absence. Today, however I was there, along with two of my co-workers to witness the act.

I pounced! Arm stretched around all the shoulders it could fit, smiling at him, giving him a peck on the cheek, I proudly recognized his generosity in their presence. "And this is the best spouse I could ask for!" Boy, did he smile. It felt the least I could do, give him the recognition he clearly deserved. My two co-workers cooed with admiration, right on cue. Thanks guys, awesome timing!

So, four people had a happy moment today. For some the moment might have been shorter than for, say me, who got to enjoy my entire cup of coffee with those warm memories stirring around in my mind. Hopefully Harold got a boost that will last him a while. How did all this "goodness" occur?

I think it's the positivity. A while back I thanked Harold for a random first cup of coffee he'd brought me. Then the dry spell. And I could have said: "You know, you hardly ever bring me coffee, and yet I....(fill in the blank) all the time for you." Actually, we run a remarkably equitable household. And yet, we can all complain from time time to time. Instead, I focused on the positive: "You know, you made my day that one time when you brought me coffee. What a treat!" And now look. We're living a win-win. I'm very happy to receive random, tasty, hot cups of coffee from my loving husband. And so far, he seems delighted with the results.

1-26-11 9:20 pm Readers!

So, when a few followers appeared on the navigation pane of each of my blogs, it thrilled me. A full month later, those same one, two, three followers remain. Whether they read or not, the numbers hold steadfast, and I can always hope. It's about being positive, right?

Oh, the thrill if those numbers climbed. Someday maybe they will. What's really cool are the bits of conversation others share, telling me they read some of my blogs. Yes, readers read some of these blogs, regardless of "following". Yay. So, I have maybe an audience of six? What a thrill! Truly, connecting with the world at large in this way feels exhilarating! Thank you readers.

Now for the nitty gritty, from a positive perspective. Lots of opportunities presented themselves today:

• To show my principal that yes, I am capable of teaching and managing a classroom. And thankfully, I know she'll be back to observe again, soon.
• To re-establish trust, coherent communication, and common ground with a dear co-worker of mine, who may have reason to seek further clarification in our next exchange. Hopefully an opportunity will present itself soon.
• To deepen the level of commitment to team work with my partner in parenting. That could happen in the next ten minutes.

Self-criticism, always constructive of course, happens to be a frequently-engaged-in activity on my part. Reasons for that can be explored, explained, and down-right exhausted; the behavior persists. And so, how might this new positive spin impact the outcome of my intellectual self-flagulation?

I mentally beat up on myself a bit today, and yet I feel whole. Options abound. Hope remains. That's a gift. Maybe this gift means that my heart will remain open and hopeful, that my neural connections will fire more effectively since less cortisol will be there to inhibit smooth transfer of information. Perhaps I'll be more readily able to rectify the shortcomings of today, making these more distant memories for others tomorrow.

Whatever happens, I know writing about it will clarify my thinking and connect me to others in ways that reveal themselves slowly, beautifully, and surely. Divine intervention, divine connection.

1-23-11 8:34 pm "But"-less

Ok, I've been keeping track of the "b" word, and realizing that although it comes out rarely, I do say it. Rather than a long, drawn out "buuuut,...", it's more of a "b'd I think..." or "b'd what about..." Perhaps this shortening of the word shows my brains attempt at fooling itself.

Smiling is rarer than I thought too. This week my cheeks will burn with smiling. We'll see how that goes.

And I need to check my vision blog - the dream I specified and promissed I'd read every day.

"Committed" is a word describing my attitude, and clearly I've let a few things go. Fatigue perhaps? Over-ambitious goals? Hmmm....clearly this requires more thought. Maybe on my walk tomorrow I'll come up with some deeper thinking.

And now to review my vision...

1-19-11 5:44 And...

So far, "and" more than suffices when the urge to "but" hits. Actually, I feel ready for a test. I may have avoided the "b" word all day. Tomorrow I'll have to track it. Anyone wanna follow me with a recorder?

Others seem to be smiling at me a lot. It's hard to tell why. Perhaps the most useful thing to observe while I avoid the "b" word is to monitor how I'm feeling. So, the question to answer is: How does replacing "but" with "and" impact my internal processing - thinking and feeling?

Maybe tomorrow, as I monitor the absence of the "b" word, noticings will surface about what else is happening in my brain. It seems like it has to be good.

1-18-11 7:20 pm Fruition!

How is it possible? Only yesterday I articulated specific hopes for our future, among them giving away one of two annual $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors. On my way in to work today financial plans for investing money, I've yet to earn, whose returns would self-fund the scholarship, began to take form in my mind. And then a friend and co-worker extended an invitation to me - after I'd shared this part of my dream with her.

So, sharing helps dreams come true. Makes sense.

Turns out she belongs to an organization which sponsors a $1,000, annual scholarship to a high school student that writes a good essay. I'm in! Yes, it's slightly different than I had in mind, so I'm looking at this as training. Learn how to do scholarships so that when we're ready to give our own, we'll have some background knowledge.

Smiling today inspired some new noticings. For one, I realized that smiling at on-coming cars produces unknown results. Blind to their nods, return smiles, and glances, I found myself wondering what effect it was having. I continued to smile anyway. What harm could it do?

At work the results more clearly informed me of...I wonder what. When others saw my smile, they responded. Almost always with a verbal greeting, they responded, and quickly too. Did seeing a smile inspire vocalization? It seemed to. And I wonder still: Did they feel obligated to return my smile with a greeting, or were they inspired to reach out after seeing a friendly expression. Obligation versus inspiration. Does it even matter. As long as the ultimate result of my smiling at others leaves us both feeling better, that seems worthy of more smiling.

Leaving out "buts" I found doable, with some concentration. I think I'll keep at this one for a while, until it's a habit. For now it's so much work that noticing the result feels premature, and somewhat challenging. Stay tuned....

1-17-11 12:35 pm Smiling, "And's", and the "Anit-Crap" Factor

Again, this week, I plan to smile. Smile, smile, and when that gets routine, smile even more. Yesterday at a restaurant for brunch, I smiled at folks on my way to the restroom, on my way to and from our table, on our way in, and on our way out. And I only remember folks smiling back at me. Some of those smiles were demure, some a happy, surprised kind of smile, some weary, some even a little sad. They all lifted me or imparted a feeling of empathy. And so, the smiling continues...

And now for the "And's": It's simple enough to replace negative words with positives, the "No's" with the "What-about's", the emphasizing of good, and minimizing bad, and still...I think there's more. Negativity, as I learned at a class a few weeks ago, reproduces of it's own energies. Positivity, on the other hand, while requiring intentionality, has long-lasting effects on our emotions and thinking patterns in the brain. So what's the "more" about?

It simply feels to me that there's more I can do to become a more positive force in my own life, and in the lives of others. So I've been on the lookout for what else there might be, and may have found it. It's the word "But".

Think about when we use it: "But what about...?, "But I thought...", "But when will...?", etc. In fact, I can only come up with exceptionally negative contexts in which to use the word "but". It could be that it's purpose is to bespeak of a negative exception. And so, this week I'll replace "But" statements with their "And" counterparts. I predict this experiment will lead to more inclusive, positive speech patterns with even more positive outcomes. More on that as the week progresses.

And now about the "anti-crap" factor. "Visualize your dreams and they become reality." Heard that one before? Me too. Sometimes it feels more attainable than at others. As doubtful as it may feel tempting to view, I do recall a first-hand experience which bore this truism out for me...nearly 20 years ago. And the situation felt pretty dubious at the time.

Freshman year of college, big university (the U of MN, Twin Cities campus) new dorm, new meal plan, new class schedule, and a new language. I'd earned B's in high school French. That being sub-par to my standards, I needed a fresh start. Japanese! Toyota, Honda, and Nissan sales dominated U.S. markets at this time in the early '90's, and I was considering business as a major. It seemed a prudent move, this taking Japanese to meet my liberal arts degree language requirement.

After our first meeting I sobbed, openly, tearfully, snifflingly sobbed the entire way back to my dorm room. Learning Japanese in this program involved "submersion", which is learning language in an environment where that tongue is spoken exclusively. The "submersion" aspect of this class was first introduced to me, upon entering the room. Had I been prepared, maybe the shock-factor would have been less, and I'd have crossed campus with a bit more composure. And granted, tearing up comes easily and regularly to me, even more so with age, it seems. This rude awakening was simply more than my frail, freshman self was ready to handle.

I'd heard of the self-fulfilling prophecy before that time, and after the sobbing binge, pacing my dorm-room floor, it seemed the best, in fact, the only, option. Being an all-be-it mature adolescent, upping the ante came naturally. I decided I would do better than simply pass this class, simply meet my two-year language requirement earning a "C". I wanted to test the theory too. Maybe prove it wrong but proving it right would only be in my favor. A win-win. It felt brazen, almost rebellious, and that made my decision all-the-more exciting. I would earn an "A". For each assignment, each quiz, each test, each term exam, in fact for the entire class, I would earn an "A". And...low-and-behold, I did. Somehow that decision informed my study habits; that visualization of my transcript made it happen for me. With flashcards, study groups, and practice, practice, practice, I earned an "A" each and every step of that learning journey.

Honestly, visualizing the fruition of my hopes and dreams has worked many time over since those early deays. But what does this have to do with "positivity"? Well, I want peace. Joy, benevolence, good will, and education for all. I want all of that for my family, our community, our country, our world. Melt all the fire arms. Meet all social basic needs through social programs that provide security. Provide education, fund research, love one another. By mixing purely positive attitudes into the bowl of our socio-economic-environmental global citizenry, I feel I'm adding the right ingredient.

And this morning, reading yesterday's paper, reminds me I can do more. Thank you Cynthia Stafford, "The $112 Million Woman". She recalled to me again, that through visualization I can make my wildest dreams come true. Hers did. She won the lottery. She has fun and beautiful cars, and a production company. It was all thanks to beginning with visualization and "positive energy" toward her personal dreams.

So. I'm gonna get specific. Here's what I visualize:

A fortune earned through patents for inventions that help others and honor our ecosystem, sales from publishing our writing, coaching and teaching, and programs that support development of life-skills and independence for youth.

That fortune will grow, through re-investment in helpful endeavors, to support five annual $1,000 scholarships for high school graduates to earn certificates for specialized skills such as auto mechanics, design, computer programming, culinary arts, medical procedures, and electrician and plumbing programs. Five additional annual $1,000 scholarships for high school graduates with a passion to apply to their degree programs of choice in the arts, music, sciences, and liberal arts will also be funded through our investments, patents, sales, and good fortune. These scholarships will be bestowed upon high school graduates with a 4.0 G.P.A., and an essay sharing their passion, and how they will contribute to the well-being of others using it. Winners also will be determined in part, by excellent writing. Preference will be granted to students with limited financial resources.

Our fortune will also support our daughter's full college tuition, room, and board. Reinvestments will support her children's childnren's children. It will fund our retirement security. It will fund an annual vacation to parts of the world new and/or dear to us. It will fund an expansion of our current home, a procuring of another in a place we'd like to weekend, and the building a cottage guest house for parents and other guests.

It will fund a lifestyle supporting the health of our environment, our physical and financial health, and possibilities for new ventures, supporting creative problem-solving ideas, all while continuing to fund the scholarships. As for our daily routine?

Our earnings and investments will mean my husband Harold will be able to afford maintaining his current situation, a return to school, embarking on a new endeavor, whatever suits his desires. Our daughter, of course, will be funded through college, and strike out on her own knowing we'll be there to support her if needed. I will live my dream: Room every day for writing, teaching, cooking, coaching, collaborating, and inventing will fill my days. Exercise will be enjoyable and routine. Our legacy will be that of a kind, considerate, compassionate, visionary, givers.

For hobbies I will sing "The Star Spangled Banner" prior to sporting events. A friend and I will also have a story-telling non-profit so that we can enjoy one of our favorite past times, and enrich the literary experiences of young children. Those will be activities in which I can engage, for all my days.

We will have hybrid cars, eco-friendly appliances, and produce minimal trash. We will afford landscaping, and enjoy gardening. We will help our neighbors. That's my dream. I will visualize it daily, while smiling, and replacing "but" with "and". Stay tuned....

1-14-11 7:20 pm Positively Paraphrasing

Today I discovered the One-Two punch of powerful communication: combine positive language with paraphrasing the speaker. Can I patent this? Think about it. The listener feels heard, and now has positive language in which to frame thinking. This could lead to good things.

1-11-11 6:45 pm Grattitude

Gratitude has attitude at its root. An attitude indeed. Today I spent more time thinking about things for which to be thankful:

The opportunity to walk to work without burning fossil fuels.

Seeing my daughter at school.

The patience of my co-workers.

My hair looking a little better.

Lunch.

Walking home with Anne.

Wireless.

My husband dropping my shoes off at work.

A flushing toilet

Running water

1-10-11 9 pm On Gratitude

OK, I began walking to work today thinking about smiling. And about wrinkles. Wisdom is beginning to trace expressions on my face. And they reveal some history of my emotions. But it's a different picture than the artificially lifted, botox-enhanced faces of our common culture media. This could lean away from thinking positively. Time for thinking in a new direction.

Gratitude jumped to mind. Last night I finished reading The Year of Living Biblically, by A.J. Jacobs. He's an agnostic with Jewish heritage. He wonders what he may be missing by basically ignoring the bible, and also wonders what biblical values he should be teaching his young family, so he begins a quest for biblical learning. He tries to live as faithfully as possible to the teachings of the bible. How is wife survived not being touched for five days of every cycle is beyond me.

It's actually an enjoyable read. By the end he seems to arrive at the conclusion that if the bible may have some unfollowable rules in modern day, (stoning, for instance), it does at the very least have gratitude going for it. Jacobs seems to find comfort in making time for gratitude, even after his year is complete. (He seems happy enough to leave a great deal many other decrees behind - his beard for one).

So gratitude can bring comfort even to the agnostic. And it can only bring positive feelings for those to whom it's expressed. Hmm...it's good for me, and good for others. I wonder what gratitude lines will look like on my face. It's time to find out! I'm going to think about everything for which I'm thankful, as much as possible. Maybe I can do this on my45-minute walk to work. That should be enough time.

1-9-11 2:10 pm Smile!

Research smiling. It's on my to-do list this week. Surely there's research telling us exactly which endorphins smiling releases, what effect it has on the brain, and how smiling impacts others.

All I know is, smiling makes my life better. Others respond more positively to me when they see me smile. I automatically feel happier when I smile. OK, sometimes I feel a little ridiculous. What's that saying? If someone is smiling, they must be trying to sell something? I'm only trying to exist in a more positive state.

If it makes others feel better, that's important too. Smiling at the cash register, at my daughter an husband, at my co-workers, at concerned parents, and at frustrated children, all has the same effect. They calm down. Maybe their ammigdula (I need to find out how to spell that!) settles. They don't have to run because the smile they see reassures them that everything is OK.

I have to remind myself to smile. It's easy to forget, especially when I'm tired, to keep smiling. It's worth it. When others smile at me, I feel more free. Free to ask a question, free to stop and say "Hello", free to breathe. How is it that we can forget to do that, breathe? Maybe if I think of smiling as a life-sustaining activity, which it most assuredly is, it'll happen more automatically.

If I forget to smile one day, or one hour, or even one minute, I certainly will live to see the next moments of life. But smiling, I'm beginning to suspect links us to longer life. Another question that needs more research. In the mean time, I'm going to do my best to keep a positive attitude through smiling.

1-7-11 10:16 pm Positive Nurture

I learned something in a professional development class today that really has me thinking. The understanding share was that negative thoughts are self-sustaing, while positive thoughts require intentional direction. In other words, when the mind has a negative thought, that negative state has the potential to continue, grow, and spread to other thoughts. Positive thoughts, however, are born out of intentionally optomistic metacognition. The thinker actually has to decide "I'm going to look at this from a perspective of possibility".

The upside here is that the positive emotional state having to do with those thoughts, neurologically speaking, exists for five to seven days after that positive thought was generated. While negativity regenerates independently, positivity has longevity. While it might plum the depths of our thinking without a splash, it can stay there for a relatively long duration. Maybe it's more permanent. Positive attitude is then, perhaps, a habit of mind. It's an important, powerful, and good habit of mind.

So, what are the possibilities? This question asks the thinker to look for options. It opens the mind, and presupposes possibilities, or solutions, exist. This will be my strategy in the coming days, to examine any potentially difficult situation from the perspective of possibilities. This passes my personal litmus test for dediding whether or not something is a good idea, because it focusses on choice. Whenever choice is involved, the situation feels healthy and safe. Looking for possibilities feels healthy and safe to me. And the good news is, the positive effects should last over a week!

1-6-11 6:59 pm Options

Staying positive seems to mean evaluating and/or continuously exploring possible options for perceived problems. The trick there seems to be in the deciding to explore said options more than in the actual act of creating solutions themselves. I notice that once I've decided there must be options, the possibilities present themselves. Rarely do they require deep digging. But when they do, my conviction gives me the stamina needed for rooting them out.

Harold finally got the car today. It's been waiting for pick-up at the mechanic's after an oil change, for several days now. Without painful compromise, difficult discussion, or forfeiting my goals, he did it. I've managed to continue to nurture my hope of reducing driving to it's absolute minimum. Anne is getting her needs met, and we're all living happily. Positive choices seem to be creating positive outcomes. It makes so much sense, it's a wonder arriving here in this place of peace me took so long. And I wonder about the longevity of my staying here - looking at everything with the bright-side in mind. Seeking possibilities by default.

Perhaps I'm seeing a need for strategies to support existing in a positive state. Reminders? Maybe it's in routine? Will it become a habit? That would simplify things. Could keeping this blog support maintaining a positive frame of mind. Having past entries diaried will allow me to reflect on previous approaches if they start to fade. I am excited to see what happens!

1-5-11 7:23 pm Day 3, Dinner's in the Microwave!

Well, our car is still parked at the mechanic's. My husband will make arrangements to get it, I believe. Since it's extra in my life, this extra time is working out. John the mechanic may have his own needs, and I have full confidence he'll let them be known to Harold when and if needed.

So, I've let that one go. Yay, a celebration when I could be griping.

And, we (Anne and I) came home to a clean sink. Dinner is heating, because I can cook in a clean kitchen, which is my personal favorite way to go about it.

My husband is a wonderful person. He's eminently trainable, and the longer we live together the more it becomes clear to me that small annoyances only continue when enabled. Rather than whine, fuss, and otherwise make a scene, natural consequences are much more effective.

Who knows why the sink was clean this afternoon. Was it because I shared that dirty dishes prevented me from cooking last night? Perhaps, but there's another option: by cooking tonight in response to washed breakfast dishes, I'm sending a positive message: Clean up after yourselves in the kitchen, and I will cook tonight. It's a good and fair state of being, to my way of thinking. So far, others seemt to agree.

Positivity. It's working so far because of the faith that others will do what they need to in order to get their hopes met. This could be good for everyone.

1-4-11 7:00 pm Noticings

It was quiet at school today. Greatings were enthusiastic, and short. (Notice I said "and", rather than "but" - positivity!)

"Hi! Happy New Year!"

Gone. Which teacher does that vanishing hair belong to?

Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration.

I want to extend that sentence to say "but just a bit", as in, it's only a wee exaggeration. "But" and "only" feel ever-so-slightly negative, though, ("though" also seeming a slightly negative as it indicates an exception.)

Are exceptions negative? In the right context, I think so, yes. In this context I'm trying to deny it as much of an exaggeration. Being positive as much of the time as possible is ... well, let's say I'm sure I can do it!

We were busy bees at work, that's for sure. Committed to work. Maybe committed to resolutions. Could we be protecting ourselves from temptations? Side-bar conversations, carbohydrates, and congretating. They were all sparse today. I wish everyone luck in their resolutions. Hopefully we'll all still be talking with one another by the end of the year. Today's indication has me wondering.

1-3-11 2:54 pm Smiling

It releases endorphines. It triggers happy muscles, happy feelings, and spreads good cheer. The power of smiling continues to surprise me.

So does the power of staying positive. Making only positive statements, saying encouraging things, asking questions with positive presumption, including exclusively positive words in everything I say.

It's a challenge (and I mean that in a good way!). It is, however, my commitment this year. And it's happening. I'm doing it. My Grandfather died last week, just before the New Year, and it's still fresh in my mind, in our conversation. Positive ways to refer to the transition (notice that, "transition" - pretty good!) He's been relieved of his suffering, we can move on, he's a cherrished memory, he was hillariously funny, his suffering is over, you get the idea. Then our furnace needed repairing. Another positive spin - did you catch it? We survived a cold night, managed a brisk morning, and in like-kind spirit, our repair technician/business owner charged us for only one of two visits. We have a lot for which to be greateful.

People often notice my generally positive disposition. This will up the ante, and hopefully keep me even happier than before.