PRACTICE EXERCISE

Habitually, you put on either your right shoe first or your left shoe. Habitually, you tie your shoes by either passing the right-hand lace around behind the left-hand lace, "or vice versa. Tomorrow morning determine which shoe you put on first and how you tie your shoes. Now, consciously decide that for the next 21 days you are going to form a new habit by putting on the other shoe first and tying your laces in a different way. Now, each morning as you decide to put on your shoes in a certain manner, let this simple act serve as a reminder to change other habit­ual ways of thinking, acting and feeling throughout that one day. Say to yourself as you tie your shoes, "I am be­ginning the day in a new and better way." Then, con­sciously decide that throughout the day:
1. I will be as cheerful as possible.
2. I will try to feel and act a little more friendly toward other people.
3. I am going to be a little less critical and a little more tolerant of other people, their faults, failings and mis­takes. I will place the best possible interpretation upon their actions.
4. Insofar as possible, I am going to act as if success were inevitable, and I already am the sort of personality I want to be. I will practice "acting like" and "feeling like" this new personality.
5. I will not let my own opinion color facts in a pessimis­tic or negative way.
6. I will practice smiling at least three times during the day.
7. Regardless of what happens, I will react as calmly a n d as intelligently as possible.
8. I will ignore completely and close my mind to all those pessimistic and negative "facts" which I can do noth­ing to change.
Simple? Yes. But each of the above habitual ways of acting, feeling, thinking does have beneficial and con­structive influence on your self-image. Act them out for 21 days. "Experience" them, and see if worry, guilt, hostility have not been diminished and if confidence has not been increased.