Positive Thinking Day

My Bachelor's Degree is in Psychology.  Yeah, Psych!  One of the things I have come to believe is that there is a very large gigantic difference between being a person who is a "glass half-empty" person and a "glass half full" person.  To make a long story short... one creates a person who finds happiness and gratitude and joy and hope far more often than the other...three guesses as to which one.  Goodness, it is even scientifically proven to create healthier people and help in curing people.  In my family, I have a mixture of both personalities.  I won't name names.  Over the years, I have made very interesting observations between the two and have whole-heartedly decided that you need to be realistic (the politically correct term glass half-empty people prefer to call themselves) to a degree, but hope means everything.  I am a glass half-full.  I'm a dreamer.  I'm a planner.  I have to say that my "realist" has opened the door to more fully looking at something...especially where the ol' mighty dollar is concerned.  Guess that is a good thing, too.  But I also know the uplifting POWER of positive thought, of the "Yes, you CAN," or the "I AM beautiful," or the "Wow...look how much weight I HAVE lost already."
 
A while back, while listening to the brilliant and hilarious CD lectures of Dr. John L. Lund in For All Eternity, he used an analogy and a phrase that I have since adopted.  He said, "Let reality kill the dream."  Now he was applying this to relationships; let people dream, don't be their dream killer, be their supporter...reality will take care of the ones that won't work out and they will achieve some of them.  You could use this in first person, too. all you realists out there.  This is getting easier and easier to do and remember as I've tried to make this my first response.  As my kids have gotten older and come to me with grand ideas of their future this concept has required me to sometimes need to repeat "Let reality kill the dream" over and over in my head while simultaneously saying "that sounds like an interesting idea."  To be honest...I have killed a few of those dreams...no you are not going to be a circus performer (my youngest at one point).  Using this great phrase on myself has been more challenging in a few aspects of my life...but it is a work in progress, and I HAVE done a really good job so far in comparison to what it could be."  order Lund's CD/book link

I am getting ready to leave for Time Out for Women tomorrow...absolutely one of the best womens event you could attend.  I have been looking at clips of some of the past presenters and came across a hilarious one about positive thoughts.  I found it enlightening.  It fit perfectly with today's theme.  Hilary Weeks, a gifted singer, is speaking about an experiment she did on her thoughts with a clicker counter.   Clicker video  Didn't you just love that clip.  In the Book of Mormon, one of the scriptures teach that part of God's plan for us on this earth is that we may experience joy (2 Nephi 2:25).  We read all through Bible, as well, that there have been times we have shouted for joy.  In Psalms alone there are seven references to joy or gladness or another synonym.  Heavenly Father wants us to experience joy.  He wants happiness to be a part of our life everyday.  We can choose to focus on the half-full or half-empty parts.  We choose.  We choose.  There is always something to be grateful for, or to be happy about...ALWAYS!  I had a very difficult trial that taught me that.

Hilary Weeks has created a website to let everyone join in on her little experiment.  She's trying to get a billion clicks of positive thought.  You can even order your own clicker from the site.  BillionClicks project link  Try it out on your own or with thousands of others on Hilary's site.  How many positive thoughts will you have today....how many in a week after this starts to become your norm?  How will you change as you focus on the positive and NOT the negative?  How quickly will you find increased joy and dreaming daily?  And don't just count...journal it!

By the way...I told my "realist" about this project and he joked, "It won't work."