RECONNECT (WEEK 4)
DAY 25: SELF REFLECTION
On Day 25 of your workbook fill out the questionnaire examining what the frame to your “life puzzle” looks like.
DAY 25 MICRO-SCIENCE
Locus of Control
Research has shown there are two main ways people interpret events in their lives. One group view themselves as having an “external” locus of control over events in their lives and the other group has an “internal” locus of control. The main difference between the two groups is that the “internal” group believes they control how they view events and therefore how those events will effect them. The “external” group believes their emotional states are generally driven by the events that happen to them, “causing” them to either feel “good” or “bad.” In general, the “internal” group reports higher levels of life satisfaction and overall well being. This is mainly due to the fact that the “internal” group believes they play a part in creating their own destiny through how they interpret and respond to events. The “external” group, on the other hand, just sit back and see what the world throws at them. Then if something “bad” happens they become in a bad mood if something “good” they become in a good mood. To sum up the two groups, the “external” group might ask someone “How is the world treating you?,” whereas the “internal” group might ask something along the lines of “How are you treating the world?”
- FACT: Your upbringing shapes your locus of control, but it is possible to change where you started from and become the opposite
- TAKEAWAY: This is good news and bad. Simply stated, you can achieve an “internal locus of control” even if your upbringing pushed you more towards an “external locus.” However, the opposite could happen as well. For instance if your family was primarily “internal” but then life goes sour you could move more towards the “external” end of the spectrum.
DAY 25 MEDITATION
Laughing Meditation
In India, they have laughing mediation classes where big groups of people just get together and start laughing. In the beginning, it starts out as forced and awkward but by the end (classes last 30 minutes) everyone is having a grand old time, for basically no reason at all. In today’s world, it seems we always need a reason to be happy, whether its because we just got a promotion or saw a funny movie. In the rest of the world, just being alive is enough of a reason to smile. When you limit yourself to “needing” a reason to smile that drastically cuts down on your chances to have a good laugh. Life is pretty amusing all the time, so start using the smile lines nature gave you!
- FACT: Children smile on average 400 times per day, adults smile on average 40 times per day.
- TAKEAWAY:Kids get it right, we should be more like them. Adults may have more to worry about but that’s all the more reason to lighten up and laugh at all that life throws at us.
DAY 25 MEDITATION
Today’s meditation is pretty simple. Just watch the “cat fails” video below and get your laugh on. If you don’t find this funny, well…. I just hope you do.
DAY 25 MOVEMENT
Broken Windows Exercise
There is a theory in criminology that if you clean up a neighborhood and fix all the broken windows it will raise the level of behavior of the citizens and lower crime. The general thought being that if an area is kept in disrepair people are more likely to litter more often and break more windows. The opposite being that if an area is kept tidy, people are more likely to respect the area and act like stand-up citizens. New York City and a number of other metropolitan areas have implemented this theory with good success. So if it works in big cities I bet it will work for your living room as well. Hopefully, with a clean house your mind is free to focus on moving your life forwards and you may even find your own self worth improving.
- FACT: Brain can only take in 120 bits of information at any one time. The sound of someone’s voice takes up 60 bits of information.
- TAKEAWAY: If you have a dirty or unkempt living arrangement. Your daily “attention allotment” will be taken up by the things that need to be done around you and you won’t have anytime to focus on moving forward in life.
DAY 25 MOVEMENT
For today’s action task clean or tidy up an area that you have been ignoring. If your forced to decide about keeping or tossing an item, only keep what sparks joy in you.