Thinking Out Loud, Volume CCLXXVI

I just found out some things about myself that make me somewhat less than proud. Now before I start explaining what I'm talking about, let me clarify one point: I think it's a good thing for a person to recognize a few of his own faults that need to be corrected, but there's a big difference between someone admitting that he needs to make some improvements, and someone beating up on himself and putting himself down. What I'm doing is the former; in no way am I low-rating myself...in fact, I've been amazed at how many people have told me that they have made the same discovery about themselves.

Now for a little background that will help describe the circumstances that led me to perform this self-examination: I am a member of a four-person rotation who teaches an adult Sunday School class known as LifeFocus, and this past Sunday was my turn. I began my lesson preparation a little over a week prior to time for me to teach, and as I was contemplating some of the different points that I felt needed to be made, I decided to present myself with a little challenge (It turned out to be a pretty big challenge.): I would see if I could go a whole week without making any negative comments about anyone else. That was on a Saturday, a week and a day before "my Sunday." Then I came up with an even better idea, so the next morning when I got to class, I asked my friend, Rusty Puckett, who was teaching that morning, if I could have sixty seconds at the end of the class to present the same challenge to the entire class, and we would discuss it the following week. I explained to them that I had decided to go on a week-long fast, but it was a type of fast where I could eat anything I want at any time. I called it a "Negativity Fast" and I invited "whosoeverwill" to join me. I was thrilled when the majority of the class agreed to do so.

Ladies and Gentlemen, that was a long week! I completely lost count of how many times I had to check myself as I was about to make some type of negative comment about another individual. If there was any consolation to be found in this saga, it was the comments I was hearing from my friends in the class who were experiencing the same types of challenges that I was facing. "It would be easier to go on a food fast," and "This is one of the toughest weeks I've ever lived through" are just a couple of the many statements I was hearing over and over from my classmates. However, when Sunday came and the "fast" was over, there was one comment that I kept hearing time and again: "I didn't realize just how negative I've become." I made the same declaration myself.

Well, that seemingly endless week is now behind us, and we're all free to go back to our old ways if that's what we desire, but like I said in the first sentence, I'm not proud of the person that I now know I had become. I know what it's like to try to carry on a conversation with someone who is a constant complainer, and I don't want to be that person. Do you know what type person is the exact opposite of a complainer? It's someone who's thankful. That's who I want to be. Now I'm wise enough to know that changing old habits is a daunting task and requires a determination made of steel, but I believe I'm up to the challenge. Whether I succeed or fail is my choice, and my decision is made.

Preston