The Glass is Half Full

Today I realised how much has changed about me in the last month - apart from being a year older. I used to think that all this self-talk stuff was a load of crap, that thinking positive thoughts wouldn’t make me more positive. But I tried it, and then persisted at it, and finally, I am seeing results.
You see, my brain (like yours) is currently active with a continuous flow of thoughts. Some positive, and some not. I realised that obviously when I’m not positive about something, i.e.” I think I’m going to do badly in my maths test” I’m already setting myself up for disaster and going into the test with a negative view. But if I went into that test thinking “I’ve done all the study I can, I’m just going to try my best.” Well then, that’s a completely different mind-set, a more positive and relaxed one. And hey, even if I failed, it’s not the end of the world.


I’ve learnt to put things into perspective. I’ve taken a step back from my little world to look at the whole picture in a positive manor. I don’t feel small and insignificant as I used to, I feel like I have so many opportunities to do amazing things in my life, and that the stage of life that I’m in now, is just a step towards my next stage. Failing a maths test at school isn’t going to kill me. I’ll learn from the mistakes I made and then try to do better. It doesn't mean I'm not going to study and try hard for my test, but I'm not going to let it get me down if I don't do as well as I would have liked to.

I’ve talked previously about the obsessive lists that I write for myself everyday. Well, I’ve been trying to make those lists less controlled and ordered, and it has actually worked and made me more motivated and energised. When I wrote lists with 30 different things to do in a day, I would rarely get them done before 10pm. If I didn’t get them done by 10pm, then I felt like I failed and that my whole day had been a waste. I would then add the things that didn’t get done to the next day’s list, which would then grow longer. Sometimes I would just look at my list and not even start; I would just give up completely. I now give myself a less organised list and am not so hard on myself, I now feel accomplished when I finish the list :)

 

So, in the last month I have:

• Persisted at my self-talk, and have seen results
• Put my life into perspective
• Stopped obsessing so much over lists
• Created a good study plan, with a balance of study, relax time and social time
• Set myself a regular morning and night routine, so I’m not rushed in the morning (I sleep better too!)

I have to say, it’s been a very successful month, I’ll just be so glad when these exams are over!