The Weekly Top Eight/Bottom Four is a mental exercise inspired by
"Bob's Irritability Scale." In HOD 1000,
Dr. Bob Innes used "Bob's Irritability Scale" to gauge personal happiness. The "scale" is based on how many things
charm you versus how many things
irritate you. If more things charm you than irritate you, then you're probably a happy person. Of course this scale should only be used for general purposes; it's not necessary to actually count EVERY thing that irritates and charms you. Even taking the time to perform such a tedious task would doubtlessly leave you irritated no matter how charmed you were before.
So, ever since that lecture, I’ve taken the time every
Monday to reflect back on eight things or thoughts that charmed me that week, and four things that irritated me. This has many benefits. For one, it’s just
good to be grateful. This set-up forces me to express
twice as much gratitude as disgust. Second, it affects my conscious thoughts during the week as I find myself looking for things to put on that week’s Top Eight. I spend a decent portion of my week
seeking charm, and I feel I’m a better person for it.
When I have so many things to chose from that it’s hard to limit it to eight items, those are usually the weeks I also have trouble thinking of four things that irritated me. Oh yeah. That’s when I know it was a
good week. But even when it’s the other way around, I take as long as it takes to come up with eight, and try to focus my troubles on no more than four. By the time I’m done, I realize
things aren’t so bad after all. And it’s always easy to just look back at the good weeks and hope for a better tomorrow.
As I’ve said, this isn’t an entirely creative idea I had (Professor Bob helped), and considering the benefits I’ve found in it, I encourage you to take the time to make a Top Eight/Bottom Four of your own.
So, that’s the story behind the Weekly Top Eight/Bottom Four, and here is it's new home. These lists are not intended for humor or entertainment, but to encourage you to think about the charms in your own life and to give you a peak at what’s going on in mine. They also make great conversation starters.
