The positive thinking experiment was quite simple. It starts with putting a rubber band on my wrist. Then, whenever I think a negative thought--any kind of thought that states a problem, attacks a person or things, or generally focuses on the negative aspects of something--I move the rubber band to my other arm. Any kind of negative thought could be turned positive by looking at it from another point of view--suggesting a solution to the problem, focusing on a person good points or how to better use something that has poor qualities in one sense, etc. The goal was to go two weeks without switching the rubber band. I never made it to two weeks, and after making it to a week and a half once and then switching regularly for a while, I realized that I was no longer thinking about the experiment at all and gave it up. In retrospect, it would have probably gone better combined with my second life-style experiment.
The habit-building experiment was also simple, but quite powerful. I chose a habit I wanted to work on--cleaning up my work/living area for a few minutes a day--and then boldly reported on it by email to a bunch of family and friends for a month. That turned out quite well, and I managed to clean up my home and workplace a lot. Although I don't strictly clean up for a few minutes a day anymore, my work desk is incredibly spartan still with just a notepad, a pen, and a few sticky notes for important memos. My home has started to get messier over the last few months, but I'm resolved to reassert my cleanliness at our new apartment.
Which brings me to my new life-style experiment New Year's resolutions.
- Report on my progress with New Year's resolutions publicly, on this blog and by email.
- Wake up 10-15 minutes earlier and use that time to stretch and enjoy the morning (a prelude to a hopefully even earlier rising time in the future).
- Take the time to reflect on my accomplishments, challenges, troubles, and the direction of my life.
- Spend time with friends.
Waking up a few minutes earlier will be really hard unless I start going to bed a little earlier, so step one for me will be going to bed by 12pm at least 3 times a week. I'll give myself a month to get into this habit.
Reflecting on my accomplishments, etc. takes time, so I will similarly try to write a single line here on this blog and in email each weekday (I don't do much computer on the weekends) about some aspect of my life.
Spending time with friends is something I've really put off doing a lot since my kids were born because I feel extremely obligated to be at home on the weekends to play with the kids and let Hitomi have a rest, and also to hurry home at night so that I can see the kids before the go to bed (and hopefully help put them to bed). But, having no personal life outside of home isn't always fun and I definitely need to enjoy the company of other people once in a while. So, my first step will be to not immediately say no when people invite me out, and also to get in touch with an acquaintance who I've been wanting to get to know better.
Wish me luck!
