I want to start my story by saying that I’m on a diet of positive emotions.

 

There is a lot of negativity going on in this world. When you turn on the TV for example, usually what you hear are the news about wars, hoax calls, bomb explosions, people who are injured or killed, death toll. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

 

Rescue workers wearing hard hats, creeping through a gap, looking for survivors after an earthquake. All around them collapsed buildings, twisted bits of metal, jagged chunks of reinforced concrete, terrible destruction…

 

Nowadays, it has become much more frequent on the news to see the devastation caused by natural disasters.

 

I would never forget the man on the TV with a handful of soil in his hands, looking desperately at the sky, scanning it for signs of rain. On all sides, there were withered crops and cracked earth.  He was in despair because of the severe drought.

 

Whereas, in some parts of the world, there is no rain, in another parts, there is too much.

Recently, I’ve seen pictures on Facebook from one of my Canadian friends – his area has been severely flooded. People were wading thigh-deep in the muddy water, trying to salvage their property which was floating about. It was devastating to look at those scenes and to witness the despair of the people.

 

So I have decided, enough is enough! And I cut off the supply of the negativity. I no longer watch TV or listen to the radio, specifically the news. I may follow some of the news on the Internet, but I decide which one to see. I’m in control.

 

Like Dean Graziosi says - News drains our confidence and causes us to slip into a fear-based mentality.

Do you agree? What’s your opinion? How much does hearing negativity in the news take away from your ability to embrace the positive things in the world?

 

In the health-conscious time we are living in, we pay so much attention to the food we eat, to physical exercises, going to the gym, but we fail to take care of our minds and souls.

We need high-quality food for our body if we want to be healthy. But the same goes for our mind, too. We need to feed it with positive food, as well. That’s why I try to nurture my mind regularly with positivity by reading, watching, listening to inspirational books, videos, podcasts. That’s why I’m on a diet of positive emotions. If you focus on something, it grows. If you dwell on the negativity, it becomes double negative. But if you focus on the positive, it become double positive. Beware of where your focus is!

 

Increase the daily diet of positive emotions and positive words! It is very important with what you feed your mind.

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Download my other stories for free here - English with Inspirational Stories by Dimi +  more – get the gift of positivity - three of my books  

 

I put my students on a special diet. We always start and finish with it. This special diet is the diet of positive emotions. Emotions are contagious and positive emotions help us to become more resilient to the setbacks. Positive emotions help us to thrive.

 

Based on the daily diet of positive emotions, I created The Daily Diet of Positive Words. You can find it here:

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Increase the daily diet of positive emotions and positive words! It is very important with what you feed your mind.

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You can also get a free gift – 3 of my books

My friend called me last night. I was asleep at the time of the call. I still heard that my phone was ringing but I couldn’t get up and pick it up. In the morning, when I woke up I saw that my friend was online. We started exchanging messages. And here is our message history:

-        Why didn’t you return my call last night?           

-        I would have returned your call last night if I hadn’t been asleep.

-        Why did you go to bed so early?

-        I wouldn’t have gone to bed so early if I hadn’t been tired.

-        What did you do to be tired?

-        I wouldn’t have been tired if I hadn’t been studying so much.

-        Wow, why did you study so much?

-        I wouldn’t have studied so much if I hadn’t had an exam after 2 days.

-      Why do you reply to me in this weird way – I would have done…..if I hadn’t been….

-        I wouldn’t have replied to you in this way if I hadn’t had an English exam and I’m practicing third conditional at the moment.

-        Oh, wow, what is third conditional?

-      Third conditional is used to talk about the past and to imagine something different from what actually happened.

-        Do you mean we can use it to express regret?

-        Sure and to make up excuses :-) I’ve just made up all of these answers in order to practice the third conditional.

-        Wow :-)

-        And I want to know, why didn’t you bring me apples?

-        Now, it is my turn to make up excuses, right? :-)

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************* Third conditional

If + past perfect ..., would + have + past participle

If you had called me earlier, I would have answered you.

…would + have + past participle… if + past perfect ...

I would have answered you if you had called me earlier.

 

If + past perfect … wouldn’t + have + past participle

 

Instead of would, we can use also – could, should, might

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Pay attention to the pronunciation of would have – would’ve. The same goes for -  could have, should have, might have – Watch the video below!

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*************Retell the story using the template:

My friend – call – last night – asleep – missed call

1.    Why, return, my call? – asleep

2.    Why, bed, early? – tired

3.    What, tired? – studying

4.    Why, studying? – exam

5.    Why, weird answers? – practicing third conditional

6.    What, third conditional?

7.    Express regrets about past?

8.    Why, apples?

9.    Make up excuses

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************Should have = 'shoulda' in spoken English;

Should not have = shouldna

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Practice the Third Conditional with Songs:

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Pay attention that woulda is only in spoken English. In writing, we write – would have

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Practice the Third Conditional with "Once Upon a Time"