Hi everybody,
I was just wondering if anyone was using the notebook as it suggests to write down your negative thoughts and to put down a positive one also.

It seems to be a little difficult doing this at work and the tapes say to do it for the rest of the program...but I am finding it hard. Either with the lack of time or the fact that I don't feel like doing it (I know...lazy).

What is everyone else doing (or what have you all done) and if you only put down a few thoughts a day, does it still benefit you. This is my second week on Tape 3 due to laziness and lack of time, so I am really discouraged with myself for not doing this Tape with a more encouraged attitude.

Thanks for the help,
Kim

I must confess that I have not been able to write down all negative thoughts. I try, but it is hard to when you're at work or driving or at the grocery store!

My opinion - do you best and write down as many as you can and replace them.

Helen

Hi
Thanks Helen...at least I am not the only one finding this a bit of a challenge. Thank you for the advice..I will do the best I can.

Andrew, you always seem to amaze me. You make such sense that it is scary. I am going to print what you wrote and read it when I need encouragement. Thank you so much. By the way, I don't know if you read it or not, but I left you a comment on the General Comments section under your thread of taking a break. I mean every word of it.

Thanks a bunch,
Kim

[This message has been edited by kimmy (edited 02-06-2001).]

Hi kimmy,

I am on this Session now my second time around w/the Program...and I am still having trouble writing my negative thoughts down and replacing them w/positive ones. I can catch myself having a negative thought and replace it verbally w/a positive one...but to write it is hard for me too. I find it time consuming and I sit there and stare at the blank piece of paper! I have the little spiral notebook, I carry it around, and this time around I am writing some of my negative statements and replacing them...but boy this is hard.

In my journal, I am tracking my anxious episodes...in fact I wasn't journaling regualrly last time around, but now I haven't missed a day and I enjoy this and I am so proud of myself for doing a 180 on the journaling This week it says to write a few of our negative thoughts in the journal and replace them w/positive thoughts and Rewind, Categorize which style of negative thinking these thoughts are coming from, and Dispute them. I am doing this well...but that spiral notebook stresses me out as I had trouble w/doing it the last time around and I thought I would improve my negative attitude about it this time...but for now anyway, it isn't happening...so I am doing what Ken on the tapes did...as soon as I notice a negative thought I say, "Thoughts, only thoughts" and this is working well for me I will do this until I get more comfortable writing them down...there is no time limit...we can repeat this Program indefinitely if we choose to...and I choose to do it over and over again as I love it so much and practice makes us get really good at all of this

You are definitely not alone in this...I completely relate Don't beat yourself up over it as I did that and it does no good...find a way that is comfortable and easy for you until you are ready to deal with the spiral notebook

~Angel

quote:

Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them

Thanks so much Dena and Angel.
It really helps to know that I am not the only one getting frustrated and you are both right, I am going to do the best I can and then move on to lesson 4.

Thanks,
Kim

Hi Kimmy,

You don't know how wonderful it is to be able to see in words what I have been feeling. This is my first time around in the program and last night my fiancee' and I went to the store to pick up my spiral notebook. Just as usual, I had trouble finding the "perfect" one. Not too big, not too costly. He said to me (being the smart alec he is) "of course you don't want to buy the more expensive one when the thoughts you will be writing are so cheap!" Spoken by someone that knows my thoughts better than I know them myself!!

Anyway, can you believe that the one I finally saw and immediately chose was the perfect size and on the front of it along the right edge said simply "attitude." Another laugh followed and I didn't care if people were looking at us. Suppose I'm making progress.

Thanks for the post, gave me some more insight.

Isn't it wonderful that we have each other??

You are absolutely right Linda!

I am also glad that we all have each other to listen and to help.....it is an awesome feeling.

Take care and good luck.
Kim

I had actually thought this little exercise wouldn't be much of a benefit and more of a pain. I'm a MAJOR negative thinker. But several times during the day I pulled out little notebook (it's bright red and says in huge bold letters FAT LIL NOTEBOOK) and I'd jot some things down. My coworkers don't think this is anything unusual because I've always been a list-maker and if questioned, I say that I'm making one of my "to do lists" and nobody has ever looked over my shoulder to see EXACTLY what I was writing. With the way my brain has always raced wildly it's one of the ways I've stayed focused. Today I just jotted down my negatives as they came in and I couldn't think of anything positive so on the commute home I thought about them. I had my notebook open to that page in the passenger side and at red lights I'd read one outloud and think about a positive thought until I got an appropriate one and moved down my list. I found that my ride home seemed a little less stressful (I was starting to really hate driving and my commute's only a half hour each way) because I was reaching for positive thoughts. I encourage anyone (even if you think it's a pain or inconvenient) to faithfully do this exercise. I'm honestly enjoying the program the more I throw myself into it.
Hugs to all,
Pam

Hi again

Just a really quick note to let you know that when I first saw your post I had a good feeling. You see, my very best friend is also named Kim, but I have ALWAYS called her Kimmy! (She's the first one to bust my chops about negative thinking, and has for over a year.)

and to Pam:

Thanks for your post....I love what you said about your commute, sometimes when the negative thoughts come I can't think of a positive thought to replace it with. THEN I stress about THAT! I like your idea of listing the negative and then listing the positive later on. I'm going to give myself a break and try that this week. Thanks again!!

KIMMY:

This can be very easy. THINKING the POS/NEG thing doesn't work. There's something powerful in the writing of it. I think it gets out of us. It's like the thought is on a treadmill in our brains and as soon as I write it, the thought disipates.

Try by starting (or only doing it) on a Friday as you leave work and throughout the weekend; do it during lunch, on your way to and from work and errands. We are only talking about 2 and 3 line thoughts, both neg and pos. What I found was that once I did it for a few days the negative thoughts started to go away along with panic and I don't need to pull it out very often. I clip a pen to my mini spiral and keep it in my purse.

Pretend you just thought of something you need to do later and make a quick note of it. People certainly wouldn't suspect what you're really doing.

I WAS LAZY,TOO. So now I am doing the program for the second time. I basically just listened to the tapes and did very little reading. I did start to get better and then did too much and started to feel panicky again. That's when I realized I needed to buckle under and follow what I paid for.

Remember you can go to sleep with the tape and you can listen to it after work as you're making dinner.

GOOD LUCK!

------------------
Always Hopeful, Betsy H.
Marietta, GA (East Cobb)
Happily Married Walton High (Volunteer) Mom.
Anyone from this area (females only), I would like to find a support person, and be a support person. Maybe meet and walk at school or the park or the Avenue. I get around, not housebound, but I still keep my problem a secret. You know, I look "IN CONTROL" but inside feel far from it.

[This message has been edited by EastCobbGABetsyH (edited 03-11-2001).]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Andrew:
In regard to being discouraged, keep in mind that you can go through the program again if you want. I went through the program twice, back to back, and then a few more times over the years. So you are not working against a deadline here. There is so much information on each tape, and all of this "positive thinking stuff" is so alien to our way of thinking that it can be overwhelming at first. I would suggest just keeping up on the positive thought replacement, and then once this week is up, go on to session 4, whether you feel ready or not. (I know how this feels, I never felt ready to go on to the next tape...if I had let my perfectionism get ahold of me I would still be on session 1, haha )


Andrew...I agree with so many of us on this Forum...you are so insightful! I'm so happy that I totally understand this one about no time frame. I am on my second round of the program and have been 2 weeks on session 3 because it is to very good. I am just doing my best and am continually feeling improvement! I don't remember ever feeling this hopeful about myself and just life! I absolutlely feel different even with the struggle of the writing etc.

Thanks for your caring.

I originally did not want to do this exercise because I thought it would only reinforce my negative thoughts. After hitting a setback in my progress, I went back to Lesson 3 and saw on the boards here how helpful this exercise was to others. So I've been actually doing it and I have felt much better.

So, just a note of encouragement to others to give it a try.

best to all.

Cynthia

Hi Folks, I'm new to the Forum. I too struggled with finding the time to write down my negative thoughts in a notebook. I also have a difficult time identifying negative thoughts. Seems as though years of thinking this way has caused me to not have the ability to immediately recognize a negative thought. Any suggestions? I'm also interested in learning about more relaxation methods. Looking forward to your response(s). Thanks

Dear Nancy Drake,

The simplist help I have ever had in identifying a negative thought: If I feel negative (sad, angry, anxious) then I have had a negative thought (or two . I rewind my thoughts and most of the time I can find what I was thinking that started the negative feelings. Remember: A feeling is always proceeded by a thought.

Positively, Carolyn