Today is going to be a good day

Today will be a good day, and here is why.

The sun is peaking through the clouds.

Out my window, people stride—

arm in arm, laughing, listening to music.

Yesterday brought challenges, but I overcame them.

Tomorrow is unknown, but I decide

what I will think, do, and feel.

This is true.


^Terrible poem but it's okay, I just woke up after being in a coma-like sleep for eleven hours.

It was inspired by two things. Firstly, in my PCJ class I read an article by Janice Stein, "Psychological Explanations of International Decision Making and Collective Behavior," and it struck a chord with me. In the beginning Stein recounts the legacy of the cognitive revolution in psychology, and how this new frame of looking at the discipline has led us to have a much better understanding of how the mind works.

She focuses mostly on rational thought and political decision-making, as the title suggests, but one of her main points was that emotions and cognitions are co-constitutive and complementary, meaning that "rationality depends on emotion" (Stein, 21). Emotion truly plays a role in each thought we have and, thus, influences our behavior.

Going off of this, I am reminded of what I learned at a group CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy) session I went to regarding anxious thoughts. All of the strategies we were taught dealt with changing your thoughts, which then leads to feeling and behaving better. It falls in line with Stein's article, and I am trying to work with the knowledge to change my own life for the better.

By thinking positive thoughts first thing in the morning, you truly can change how you feel physiologically and overall influence how your day goes!

I hope everyone is having a beautiful Friday :)

À bientôt!

Citation:
Stein, J. (2013). Psychological explanations of international decision making and collective behavior. 
        In W. Carlsnaes T. Risse & B. A. Simmons Handbook of international relations (pp. 195-219). 
        London: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: 10.4135/9781446247587.n8