Focus on the Positive

I say it to everyone else.  “Focus on the positive.”  Seriously.  And then, what do I do?  Focus on the negative!  I mean, isn’t that logical?

I think about what I want to change.  I think about where I want to grow.  I think about what I want to accomplish or achieve…  Which means, these are places that need to change or things that I haven’t done yet.  They become places of lack, failure, short-coming.

My resolutions for the new year are based on what I didn’t accomplish last year.  ugh.

So, it’s time to turn it on its head.  As I was feeling sorry for myself today, I visited The Happiness Project and ended up at http://www.reverb10.com/the-prompts/ to reflect on the past year.

And the questions turned me on my head.

Instead of “what do you want to accomplish next year?” (to which I always add the parenthetical – “that you didn’t accomplish last year”), the questions were a bit more positive.

Here’s a sampling:

• What makes you different and what do you do that lights people up?
• What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010?
• What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?
• What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year?
• How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year?
• What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year?
• What healed you this year?
• What did you eat this year that you will never forget?
• What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year?

So, now, instead of focusing on what I didn’t accomplish or do or what I lack/lacked, I’m thinking about what makes me unique, what makes me happy, where I have already healed and what I already accomplished.

So, what about you?  What great things did you experience last year?  What were your happiest moments?  And how did those moments make your life better?