About the Challenge
I've noticed lately that there seems to be sort of a negative bias towards one's feelings - especially in the Right Now I Feel... thread. And while it is perfectly acceptable to post that you are feeling a negative emotion, I figure that hey - through every dark cloud, there is a bright spot.
The focus of this challenge is to find that "bright spot".
Challenge "Rules"
There are no set "rules" for the challenge - which is why it is in quotation marks. Pretty much, the only thing that you have to do is pretty much just stay within the boundaries that the challenge has created. This is for fun, and to get you to recognize that through every dark cloud is a bright spot waiting to be seen, and that positive and negative can exist at the same time.
This isn't exactly meant to be posted - but if you would like to make a post in this thread concerning the challenge, go ahead and do so! Pretty much how it works is this -
1) Work through the steps. Do Challenge 1, Challenge 2, and Challenge 3. With every challenge you "work", either make a mental note of what you have done, or what is going on, or write that down. The second post in this thread is the "template" post, which will hopefully explain how to write down the challenge if you want to do so. (If you still have questions, go ahead and PM me
)2) This part isn't for writing down, but think about how you can use those steps not just here on the forum, but in daily life. Think of a recent situation where you thought the negativity had wrapped around you like a berserk roll of clingfilm, and how now, with the benefit of hindsight, you can see where some positivity might have been.
The Challenge
Challenge #1
Tell Me One Good Thing About How You Feel
Not me Spider personally, but "me" as in "you". Through all the darkness and negativity that's in your feelings map right now, pick a bright spot - maybe at one point in the last couple of hours, you felt okay, maybe something good has happened but it didn't get far enough to the surface to impact your current negative mood.
Challenge #2
Identify, Identify, Identify
In the same vein as identifying triggers, identify what kind of situation, thought process, or change (subtle or not) happened to make your mood feel negative. Also, identify what made the good thing you feel happen.
If it is really hard to identify your feelings, or you're having a difficult time with the process, see the Sourcebook threads on identifying your feelings. It may be of good use to you.
Challenge #3
Embrace - Or Hey, If You Can't, Acknowledge
Try to embrace that positive feeling -- that "bright spot" that I'm talking about. Or if you can't, at least acknolwedge it. Acknowledge that you have the right to your feelings, both good and bad, and try to give them as much "equal time" as you can. Perhaps the conversation within yourself can go something like this:
This is just an example, you don't have to "do" this part -- it's just an explanation of what I'm trying to say
[Internal Self] "I feel stupid."
[External Self] "Okay, you feel stupid, but do you remember today when we got the new TM Network CD?
[Internal Self] "Yeah! I was happy and I really looked forward to getting it"
[External Self] "Can we try to carry that over?"
[Internal Self] "No because I feel stupid because I think I did something wrong with this program, and it's fairly easy to program a script to tell Mail to put things from my brother into their own folder"
[External Self] "Well, okay then. Just remember that good can coexist with bad. So what to go by is this: Yes, you made a mistake programming. But you can listen to your new CD while you program, and remember that happiness and frustration can sometimes coexist."
Pretty much that's what this entire challenge is about - identification and if possible, coexistence. The first step to everything in life is identification and acknowledgement.
Try it! Challenge yourself and see.
