Begone, my negative self. I tried changing myself with a single note

Don't you keep thinking, "I'm just not having fun"?

Hello! I'm Rakutani, whose motto is "Easy and Fun"!

Something "sluggish"
Something "tired"
Something "boring"
Something...
　　　　：
　　　　：
　　　　：

I often felt like I was juggling vague, negative "something" emotions in my head.

Before I started writing them down, I felt so down, thinking, "Is this going to last forever?"

This time, I will write about a method toclarify and erase that negative "something," and make every day at least a little more enjoyable.

Tools to erase that negative "something"

Writing is great for erasing those vague negative emotions called "something," so anything you can write with is fine!

If I had tosay, something easy to carry and quick to start writing with is best, so please preparea notebook or a memo app on your smartphone.

What is the cause?

Once you have something to write with, we willclarify the "something" negative emotions and connect them to finding the cause and solving the problem.

First,decide whether each event that happens in your daily life is pleasant or unpleasant.

"It rained" Unpleasant
"Saw a stray cat" Pleasant
"Boss is noisy" Unpleasant
"Shoulders are stiff and sluggish" Unpleasant

You might think, "Is there any point in doing this?" since these are all obvious things, but

by writing them down, you won't overlook events you would otherwise ignore, and you can face your own emotions,so things become clearer.

Make it even more detailed by using numbers

Once you have accumulated pleasant and unpleasant events, the next step is to use numbers to clarify your own internal standards.

At first, an 11-point scale from -5 to +5 is good.

"It rained" Unpleasant -3
"Saw a stray cat" Pleasant +2
"Boss is noisy" Unpleasant -4
"Shoulders are stiff and sluggish" Unpleasant -2

By turning them into numbers, your current state becomes clear.

Also, the reason I divided them into pleasant and unpleasant at the beginning is that when you assign numbers, you might worry, "Is this a -2 or a -3?"

At such times,if there are many pleasures and displeasures, you can compare them and turn them into numerical values.

Once you get used to it, you can go straight to numerical values instead of pleasure/displeasure.

In this way,as the numerical values accumulate,
"Situations where I talk to people are all negative," "When I'm playing games alone, there are many positives," and so on,

you will understand the biases in your feelings.

Sorting emotions

I will sort the pleasures and displeasures that I have turned into numerical values and connect them to actions for resolution.

When sorting, think about the frequency with which that emotion occurs and whether the cause is yourself or something external.

・Pleasures and displeasures that happen almost every day
Things like "my boss is annoying" are there when I go to work, so every day is unpleasant.

・Occasional pleasures and displeasures
"Seeing a stray cat" is an occasional pleasure, and rain isn't every day either.

・Can I do something about it myself? Or can't I?
"My boss is annoying" is someone else, so it can't be changed easily, and I can't do anything about feeling unpleasant due to the weather. "My shoulders are stiff and sluggish" is my own body, so it feels like "I might be able to do something about it."

When you are sorting,

"I'll do something about this one!" or "This is impossible!" or "I'll try to enjoy this more," andbecause you can clearly draw a line for each pleasure and displeasure, you will feel incredibly refreshed!

Erasing from negative

From among the sorted items,pick up "daily unpleasantness," "unpleasantness I can do something about myself," and "unpleasantness with a large numerical value," and think about the difficulty of solving them.

In this case, there is nothing I can do about the weather or my boss, so I feel like I'll start by fixing my stiff shoulders.

At this time,you don't need to come up with concrete solutions; it's fine to just vaguely think "difficult" or "doable."

Furthermore,it is important to think in the middle, like can I make it from -2 to -1, because aiming for a complete solution is mentally exhausting!

For stiff shoulders, a complete solution would be, "Go to a chiropractor, have them check my balance, receive regular treatment, and fix my posture daily... etc."

"Ugh! That's a hassle!!" It's obvious I'll just give up!

So, it's fine to take the middle ground and start by looking up "correct posture" on the internet and practicing it. It won't be a complete solution, and it might stay at -2, butit is important that you can understand the priority and take action because you sorted them.

The solutions are lining up!

By clarifying your emotions through the steps of pleasure/displeasure → numerical values → sorting, your mind will become incredibly clear.

Since your brain is already in a state of pleasure with room to spare, the solutions you were struggling to find will just pop right out!

By reducing or eliminating small negatives on a daily basis, even if you think "there's nothing I can do about the weather or my boss," you will find more ways to solve problems and be able to handle them.

Start with one, then two. Respect the pace of your emotions.

You can solve negative "something" emotions by writing them out.

However, the act of "writing it out" itself is initially "unpleasant" for most people. is.

Especially the more negative emotions you have, the less room you have to do new things, and you get stuck in a negative spiral where nothing ever gets solved.

Therefore, "Today, just one... just one is fine, write it down before you go to sleep" is a small enough action to be okay. is.

It's also fun to buy a high-quality notebook or get a nice pen to lift your spirits while you write.

I am a gaming addict, a perfectionist, negative by nature, easily bored, a compulsive liar, socially awkward, selfish—I am a hopeless person who can't do anything.

But, by starting to scribble down my emotions on A4 copy paper once a day, in just one minute, I am now able to create long-form articles on note that exceed tens of thousands of characters. I've even become able to say cheesy lines like "I'll definitely live my life to the fullest, easily and happily!" without feeling embarrassed.

If you are addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, or gambling, if your family life isn't going well, if nothing you do is fun, or if you are a NEET or unemployed and find it painful just to breathe (like my former self), I want you to try this writing exercise.

It's harsh, but results won't come immediately. Or rather, the more negative "something" emotions you have, the more you will rush to try and feel better quickly.

Lotteries and gambling exploit that kind of psychology.

If you rush and demand results too much, the disappointment when you fail will be greater, and you will fall into another negative spiral of losing even more confidence.

Well, don't rush! Let's find your own pace and change little by little, comfortably!!

From negative to zero. Next, to positive.

Start writing things out in a notebook or memo app,

1. sorting pleasure/displeasure

2. and quantifying them.

3. Sorting
   ・Pleasant/unpleasant feelings that happen almost every day
   ・Pleasant/unpleasant feelings that happen occasionally
   ・Can I do something about it? Or can I not?

4. Taking action because I understand the priorities

In this way, you can clarify and resolve negative emotions.

Next, I will write about shifting to a positive state once you have some breathing room.

P.S.:

It took me about 5 minutes to draw the stick figure in the eye-catching image (~_~;)

Usually, I draw them so casually that it only takes a second, but I guess I got a bit carried away this time.

Maybe I've been watching too many stick figure battles on Flipnote Hatena.