Observations

March was the longest month of the year after February, which was the shortest. March has 31 days, and other months have 31 days. March feels longer than October. Why? For me, in October, I have Halloween to look forward to. In March, there isn’t much to look forward to. Spring Break, but that is in April. Most of the time, at least. As an educator, I believe I have had a few months in March where I did have Spring Break. March also is when several negative events occurred in my life. Perhaps that is why I associate March with negative memories. Which brings me around to this question? Why do negative experiences, memories, and teachings stick in my consciousness while positive ones seem to detach and fly away like the wind?

There could be several reasons for this. First, researching the question, I discovered that a great deal of us have a negativity bias, which means we tend to focus on the negative more than the positive, second is that negative experiences have a more emotional intensity to them; third, we could constantly be replaying them as a problem-solving technique. Hoping that we can prevent this from occurring in the future, and the last reason is that it is a habit.

 The habit stuck out to me. As I observed my thinking, I noticed that I quickly went negative. For example, when I found out I was accepted into the Honor Society for the work in my doctorate program, my first reaction was, “you will blow it.” While working, I criticize my performance as not good enough or insufficient. 

 Lately, I am pausing and realizing that these responses are habits and are the result of the choices I am making. In addition, I can make a different choice. This is what I am practicing now. Making different choices in the way that I am thinking. Are you an observer of your thinking? Write down what you say to yourself, and decide whether it supports you. If not, make different choices and change your self-talk to be more supportive. It takes time, as most habits do. But, it is a new habit that I am attempting to build