I’m pretty excited for today’s lesson. I know I shouldn’t be, as it is technically cheating.
    But to be fair, it was Dr. Seligman’s idea. He told me to use, and I feel high already. Bring
    on the whine!

         For homework, I was asked to keep an ABC diary. The A stands for adversity—an
    unpleasant situation. The B represents my beliefs—the way I interpret the adversity (but separate from my “feelings,” and something for which the accuracy can be evaluated). The C is for the consequences of the adversity—my feelings and actions as a result of my beliefs.

     I kept this diary for a little more than a week, as, amazingly, I had a hard time coming up with five adverse situations. (Ok, fine, that’s a lie. I thought of plenty. I just wasn’t ready to admit exactly how negative my thoughts were on some of them!) Here are the five I settled on:

1.
A: I bite into a slice of pizza fresh from the oven and burn the roof of my mouth. Everything I eat and drink for a week aggravates the burn.
B: I like eating, and I am impatient.
C: I question if I have an unhealthy relationship with food. I’m reminded of a time in ninth grade when a guy in my regular lunch group asked if anyone wanted his cupcake. I said I did. He called me a heifer. I didn’t eat his cupcake. In fact, I think I stopped eating for a week. Hey, I wonder if I can do that again? It’d certainly stop the pain in my mouth.

2. 
A: I go to see a concert and the bouncer slips an over-21 wristband on me before even giving me the chance to reach for my ID. I’ve noticed this is happening more frequently.
B: I’m getting older, and it shows. There was also that guy the other week who thought I was “his age,” which turned out to be three years older than I am. The polluted city air and over-treated water must be aging me. And I have noticed a wrinkle forming between my eyes, likely the result of squinting due to my denial over needing to wear glasses.
C: Depressed, I buy some heavy-duty wrinkle cream. I promise to make a conscious effort to squint less. I also consider resuming shopping at Forever21. If I dress young, I’ll look young, right? And from now on, I’ll shove my ID in bouncer’s faces before they even have the chance to ask for it. This way, I’ll never know whether or not they were going to, thus preventing myself from feeling lousy when they don’t. 

3.
A: I meet a guy. He’s cute, sweet, has a sexy accent, and is actually into me. The down side? He lives on the other side of the world and was only in town for a few days.
B: In the words of one of my favorite Jerry Seinfeld lines: “That's God's plan. He doesn't really want anyone to get together.”
C: I resolve myself to spinsterhood. I’ll get that dog I’ve been wanting, or, hell, maybe even two. We’ll be fine. Plus, I still have my Prince:

4.
A: I come down with a cold and have to cancel plans I’d made to have brunch with my friends.
B: I am missing out on a carbohydrate overload and mimosas. Oh, there I go with food again…
C: I catch up on sleep, which is rare. Plus, later, my friend informs me that a guy who recently blew me off after a date walked in during the middle of their meal and sat at the table next to them. I thank the Universe for looking out for me and saving me from an awkward moment. She doesn’t do that too often. I start thinking that my optimism training must be working already.

5.
A: The day after my missed brunch outing, I head to work feeling mostly better but quite fatigued. A coworker tells me that I “don’t look good” and “look tired.” I tell him I slept 13 hours. He says I look like I slept one.
B: I wasn’t wearing much makeup and had foregone blush. I’m not a natural beauty and my pasty complexion apparently makes me look like a cancer patient.
C: I make a mental note to self: Don’t skip blush and return to your usual 4 hours of beauty sleep per night.

     After recording my five ABC sequences from my life, I was instructed to look for the link between my beliefs and the consequences. According to Dr. Seligman, pessimistic explanations will set off passivity and dejection. Optimistic explanations result in constructive actions and increased energy.

   After reviewing my beliefs and consequences, I’m unsure of where I fall. Sure, some of the situations made me feel dejected, but I didn’t react passively. Just look at all my new plans—I’m getting a dog, changing my wardrobe, upping my beauty regimen. But, I also internalized most of the bad events, a classic pessimist move. As evident from the test of my explanatory style, I'm not sure the glass is always limited to either half-empty or half-full. Maybe some days you have to pour in a little more, and others you take a few sips. The key is in not needing to pour in more on a regular basis. And that's why this whine-o could clearly benefit from taking her glass on to the next lesson in Learned Optimism.