Looking at the Positives

I cannot believe I haven't posted in such a long time! I am not proud to admit that I gave in to the "after Christmas, after Rob's wedding Open House blues".  Even while "down" I still had creative thoughts and ideas to blog about.  Unfortunately, I have been without my IMac for technical reasons and today is the first time I've been able to use my husband's computer without problems; yay me!
(I am grateful to have finally have been able to pull out of my "hole" and to look forward to the new year with a little more hope and gratitude.) 

Last week my copy of Shape magazine came in the mail ( a free subscription I was able to obtain with a Hip2Save's website posting I received on facebook).  As I opened the cover, the first page I saw was a new ad campaign for Special K.  I had to look at it a minute because I couldn't figure out why JOY was replacing the spot where the numbers usually appear on the scales, but when I read the copy at the bottom of the ad it made total sense to me!  The whole marketing campaign is geared to what we gain when we lose weight instead of focusing on the losing.  It's a total turnaround of our usual mindset. (we can insert any positive feeling in the "joy" spot).

I love the idea of the mindset turnaround; it works not only in thinking of weight loss but also in thinking of eliminating other bad habits we might like to get rid of as well as in elminating thoughts that are no longer serving us.

I have blogged in the past about our perceptions and in how they affect our lives; this is just another example of how changing one's views can change the whole outcome.  If I focus on the "joy" I know I"ll feel with weightloss, it makes giving up foods I normally love a little easier.  In the same way, when I focus on the freedom I"ll feel when I let go of anger or let go of negative thinking, then those negative behaviors (and the results I get from them) seem easier to let go.  It's all in our perception.

Last week I opened up the new calendar my sister gave to me for Christmas; I love it.  Each month starts out with an inspirational quote.   Jauary's is, "The course of our lives is seldom determined by real, life-altering decisons.  Our direction is often set by the small, day-to-day choices that chart the track on which we run ." -----Gordon B. Hinckley 

 I love this idea of focusing on the small day-to-day choices we make.  When changing my perception to the positives (as used by the Special K ad) the desire to choose foods, activities,and thoughts becomes more of an exciting prospect than a drudgery.  I wake up each morning looking forward to new challenges and new possibilities rather than old habits that I'm trying to shed.  Who would've thought that an ad campaign by a cereal company would have given me such inspirational thoughts?  You just never know where truth can be found!