Life is a Stage

Life is a Stage

Everyone has personal limitations, and sometimes we just have to accept certain things about ourselves. I, for example, will never be a math whiz (partially because I don't think that way, partially because it doesn't interest me a whole lot). There are other characteristics, however, that we know deep down we could work on, whether it's procrastination, negativity or a nasty temper. These traits are nothing more than HABITS, ways of dealing with the world that we've been doing so long they seem ingrained in our personalities. But they are not! Think of them as skills - like learning to ride a bike or make a cake. We just haven't practiced enough to have them come naturally to us.

One step towards overcoming these habits is to realize that they are not ingrained in our identities, that we are capable of doing things another, hopefully better, way. A simple way to get the ball rolling is to do a personal experiment. Choose one trait or habit that you would like to change; for example, negativity. Promise yourself that for one week you will ACT like you are a positive, upbeat person. It may have to be an Oscar performance if the habit is deeply ingrained, but try to have fun with it. Try to say what a optimistic person would say, do what they would do, act how they would act. Don't go over the top (it's not a soap opera), but try your best to put yourself in the mind of a positive person. At first, it may feel strange and forced, but if you stick with it, you will find that by the end of the week you actually FEEL more positive. And if you extend your experiment to a month and so on, you will see better and better results.

by T.L. Scribe