1 Running Head: POSITIVE SELF IMAGE CHANGE PROJECT (PSIC) Positive Self-Image Change Project (PSIC) Christina Mayberry CED 117 Section 1005 November 15, 2021 2 Running Head: POSITIVE SELF IMAGE CHANGE PROJECT (PSIC) Abstract The following is a summary of my 5-day experiment working with positive behavioral changes. I will tell you what the list of positive behavioral changes I have chosen to pursue are. I then will give my thoughts and feelings regarding these daily changes in my routine in a journal type format. I will speak about days 1 through 5 separately, so that you may follow the emotional output of the newly implemented behaviors; I am going to tell you how I felt during each day. Lastly, I will express the overall outcomes and feelings generated by this week of positive behavioral changes. I will quickly summarize for you how each behavior affected me, what my thoughts about that behavior are, as well as, how easy or difficult the behaviors were to accomplish. My writings are intended to express how the positive behavioral changes affected me through the course of 5 days. 3 Running Head: POSITIVE SELF IMAGE CHANGE PROJECT (PSIC) Positive Self-Image Change Project (PSIC) I have actively engaged in a series of positive behaviors for a consecutive 5-day period. The positive behaviors I chose to follow were: to genuinely compliment a person on their ideas, behaviors, dress, or anything positive that stood out to me; to immediately recognize and change a negative thought to a better feeling and positive one; to smile and greet people I know, as well as strangers I meet; to participate in personal daily affirmations - three times a day, or more; and to disclose something about myself that I am comfortable sharing with others in an attempt to allow them to get to know me better. Day 1 – I feel empowered by my positive behaviors. I feel strong and capable. Although, a sense of self-doubt has crept into my thoughts today. I wonder: Am I allowed to feel good? Am I allowed to be proud of myself? Are the nice feelings and thoughts that I am having, ultimately true about myself? Today was challenging because I was changing my normal routine and the thoughts that usually accompany them. I recognize that I want to defer to “old” habits. Nonetheless, I stayed on track. I had a positive and productive day. I am very proud of myself. I admitted that I need to open my heart more to the outside world. I sometimes find myself open only to my own perceptions, instead of open to reality. Day 2 – I felt embarrassed about not getting a perfect score on a quiz today. I immediately felt silly and laughed. I told myself that I can be happy with a 95%. I recognize that I strive for perfection, but I can allow myself to be proud of a good grade. While I attended a meeting with a group of strangers, I found myself feeling shy and uncomfortable. Upon recognizing these sensations, I chose to stay open and positive toward the new experience and the new people. My responses to others were more open today than it was yesterday. Overall, 4 Running Head: POSITIVE SELF IMAGE CHANGE PROJECT (PSIC) today was challenging to get through but I did it. I was productive, and I feel good that I conquered some uncomfortable feelings. I accomplished another positive and productive day. Day 3 – Today did not go as well as it could have. I accomplished fulfilling my list of positive behaviors, but underlying my actions was some resistance. My morning affirmations helped some, but by midday I could feel myself sliding down the emotional ladder. It is as though striving to keep my level of positivity high for the last couple days has worn me out. Today, I find it hard to keep feeling as good as I did before. I decided to allow myself this feeling of resistance. When I finally accepted that it was “okay” to feel what I felt, I began to feel better. Day 4 – When I awoke this morning, there was still residual sadness leftover from yesterday. I immediately began implementing my positive behaviors and started uplifting myself. Instead of feeling an intense high with my positive behavior changes, I feel calm about them. I decided to deliberately have a calm, relaxed feeling as I went about my day. Overall, today was nice; smooth. Day 5 – Today was a whirlwind of emotions. It started with a feeling of satisfaction, then – almost out of nowhere – I spiraled down, and then back up. Surprisingly, I feel very positive about everything right now. After the rollercoaster of emotions today, I still mentally find myself in a great place. I think I worked out some issues that were inhibiting my daily positivity, prior to this past week. I had some amazing conversations this evening with different members of my family. I feel like I can move forward and be optimistic more easily than ever before. I think today has been what I like to call, “an epiphany day.” It was a day that I learned, and let go of, limiting beliefs. I feel ready to face tomorrow, and all its challenges, in an optimistic way. 5 Running Head: POSITIVE SELF IMAGE CHANGE PROJECT (PSIC) This 5-day project was great for me. There were good days and bad, but overall, the positive changes I pursued daily helped me to learn about myself, conquer certain fears I have been carrying with me, and I got to see happy responses from those I interacted with. When I complimented someone, their face and energy lit up. There was such an apparent positive change in them when they received the compliment. The positive behavior that took the most energy this week was changing a negative thought into a positive one. I had to stay on guard, to be constantly mindful of my thoughts and feelings. Then upon recognizing a negative thought or action, deliberately work to change my perception to a positive one. This action to change my behavior for the better, was exhausting. Good, but exhausting. In comparison, I found it relatively easy to smile and greet other people. Without exception, they smiled back and greeted me as well. Another easy behavioral change was using daily positive affirmations. I noticed that by using this strategy to implement positive thinking I was able to bounce back after a negative thought much quicker than was typical of me in the past. And, although it sometimes felt uncomfortable sharing things about myself to others, I felt closer to them afterward. Upon having me share something to them, they tended to share something about themselves too. Because I was paying attention to this cause and effect, I noticed how this sharing interaction helps humans become closer to one another. I am going to continue using the positive behaviors implemented this week and I will also be adding additional positive behaviors to my list. This has been a selfhelp technique that I found extremely useful in my growth as a person. I am going to keep moving forward, keep feeling better, and keep generating positive experiences for myself and others.
