Guest blogger, Robin, here.
"I’m a sucker for a pretty self-help book. And, if you can get me big results, with little time or effort – even better… Does that sound like anyone else you might know? So stumbling upon Professor Richard Wiseman’s book 59 Seconds: Think a Little,Change a Lot, I knew I could be happy, happy, happy, with little time or effort.
First, the book sat around my house for awhile. It made me happy enough just owning it, knowing I was less than a minute from sheer joy. Finally I had to open it up. I was sucked in.
In a funny and easy to read way, Wiseman captured my attention by talking about my other love: research. He’d been researching happiness and a friend of his said, “Lay it on the line…” The book was born. Though the basics are, a lot of the things we say, do and think about happiness simply are not backed by studies. They are the equivalent of pregnancy old wives tales that swear that the size and shape of our bellies will predict the sex of our babies.
While Wiseman tackles a multitude of topics succinctly and methodically, I was most drawn to how journaling could help. I love to write and I love the thought of journaling. I’ve purchased so many gorgeous journals, knowing I was going to fill them up with beautiful words and delightful stories, only have them lay bare, filled with only a few meager lines. That left me unfulfilled, broke and certainly not happy. But there is a better way, one that even I can keep up with for the long haul.
The concept is simple. Research says that if you journal once a day, for five days straight and focus on a different concept each day, you’ll feel better. The only thing is that you need to repeat it – about every three months! Even I can do that! So here are the basics in my words, not his, so I am apologizing in advance."
Day One: Write about something that is bothering you. Put all of your feelings out there. You could write for 59 seconds, 5 minutes, 15, but write about how this negativity is making you feel, what it is and thoughts surrounding it. It doesn’t have to be perfect or even in sentences. It could be a haiku or it could be bulleted points.
Where in the World is Claudia Today?
As promised, this week I am following Robin's lead by journaling from five different locations in and around the town of Grapevine, Texas. Your goal is to guess where I am. To be fair, I am only coming from locations most of you have in your home towns. This is all made possible by the great homogenization of America. Enjoy.
Take your guess in the Community Forum section labeled, Today's Post. If you guess correctly, your name will go in a drawing for a $10.00 gift certificate to that location. Also, stop in on today's Community Forum and tell us when you've completed today's journaling exercise. You don't have to share specifics, but we'd love to know about your experience with the process.
Shining off until tomorrow...