I feel like one of those people who write, "siiigh" on their Facebook statuses, and when asked what's wrong, they respond with, "Nothing. I don't want to talk about it."

I think I understand them now. You're having a bad day and you want to scream or say something, but are too mentally exhausted to recall eveything and go over it again.

I also want to refrain from being too negative in these blog posts. I know the point of a diary is to let your feelings out, but I was hoping I wouldn't take the negative route so often like I had in my previous journals. It can get tiresome, both for me and for you.

I've been reading this book called The Molecule of More. It's about dopamine and how it affects our actions. There was a short passage about Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) that I thought was interesting.

Basically, MET therapists would respond differently to a patient's statements depending on whether the comment is a "pro-change statement" (such as acknowledging a flaw or problem they have) or an "anti-change statement" (such as making excuses for negative behavior). A pro-change statement would be positively reinforced by the therapist by asking the patient to speak more about it. An anti-change statement would instead lead the therapist to change the subject instead of debating the patient.

The patient doesn't notice this technique for the most part, and ends up spending the majority of the therapy making pro-change statements.

I bring this up because I wonder if I can do the same with this journal. Perhaps, instead of writing about negative thoughts, I can acknowledge that I am having them, and then change the subject. If I write about something positive, I may continue to write about it. Thus, it will lead to me thinking more positive thoughts instead of dwelling on the negatives.

Easier said than done. I have tried to ignore negative thoughts before, and it feels a bit like censoring myself. I would like to be a more positive person over all; however, so I'd like to at least give it a shot. And if it doesn't work out, well at least I'll know what doesn't work for me.