A small psychological test.

A small psychological test.
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One day I gave my students a small psychological test.

It was based on a psychological principle

that what first comes to the mind of a person at the first sight of a thing

tells upon his/her personality.

First I gave each student a piece of paper and asked them to write their names on it.

  Then I wrote the following alphabets on the blackboard.

C. T. A. H. E

They should look at the alphabets and write the first word that came to their mind.

The word should have all the alphabets.

They would be given only one minute.

If they could not  find a five lettered word they could write any numbered word.

Then I said, “Start.”

After one minute I said, “Stop. Fold the papers.”

Then I collected all the papers to see what they had written.

Then I unfolded the papers and read the words.

Only around fifty per cent of the students had written a five lettered word.

 Most of them had written: TEACH.

 Few had written: CHEAT.

Among the others, some had written: CAT.

Some had written: EAT.

 Some had written: HATE.

Some had written: CHAT.

To the talkative students CHAT poses first!

I called one boy who had written EAT and put my hand into his trousers pocket.

To my astonishment it was full of eatables!

No wonder ‘EAT’ came to his mind first!

I was happy that there were many teachers in my class!

 

What comes to our mind first without any effort on our part at our first sight of anything has something to tell upon our own character.

As I have already noted we see ourselves in whatever we see.

The things in the world are like mirrors which reflect our images.

Good people will see only what is good in a thing.

Bad ones will see only what is bad in a thing.

Once I put a black dot on the white washed wall of my class room with my black pen.

Then I asked one student, “What do you see on the wall?”

He replied, “Whiteness.”

 “What about the dot?”

“It is nothing when compared with whiteness.”

 This is positive outlook.

This does not mean that negative aspects should be ignored.

They must be corrected.

We must take positive steps to set right what is negative.

 

If we are positive minded anything we see will inspire positive thoughts in us, even though what is seen is negative in itself.

Positive minded people will draw good even from what is bad.

Suppose we happen to see a villain,

if we are positive minded,

we won’t be disturbed at his sight,

but will be thankful to God for having given us an opportunity

to try to make him a hero. 

We can make our worst enemy our best friend, by forgiving him.

Lourdu Selvam.