Make a series of notes to yourself and post them in prominent places so that you are constantly reminded of your 3-day project. You might tape a reminder on your door so that you see it every time you leave your apartment or dorm. Carry a reminder in your notebooks or textbooks that you carry around campus or on your desk at work.
Specifically, your project is to be very
upbeat, positive, and complimentary toward others
while avoiding unnecessary negative thoughts, reactions, and interpretations.
Make a list of the positive behaviors that you will pursue every day for 3 days. For example, your list might include:
Looking for opportunities to compliment people for their ideas, behaviors, dress, and such (WITHOUT being phony!!);
Recognizing when you think a negative thought or when you interpret a situation as being negative when you really are not sure that it is. Immediately replace such negative self-talk and interpretations with a positive alternative;
Smile and greet people whom you know as well as strangers you meet on the street;
Help people in need; for example, the frail old lady who is struggling to lift a bag of groceries from her shopping cart into her car, etc.;
Disclose something about yourself that you are comfortable sharing with others in an attempt to allow them to know you better.
Keep a daily journal about your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to this assignment as you move through the week, addressing the following questions:
How did it make you feel:
satisfied?
pleasant?
embarrassed?
hypocritical?
shy?
Did your thoughts/feelings change during the course of the week? How so?
What was the response of others?
What was your response to the response of others?
Was this a difficult challenge for you?
What did you learn about yourself as a result of this project?
Make sure that you include people in this project that you see every day. This may include family members, spouses, friends, children, etc.
Project will be written in APA format: Title page, Running head, page numbers, Abstract, Times New Roman, size 12 font, double spaced. Note: Use of contractions are NOT permitted in APA format; please write in 1st person point of view.
Your journal should be 3 FULL pages, not including the title page. DO NOT include your word count for this project.
