The World Is Not Ending in 2012!!!!

Guess what? The world is not ending in 2012 even according to the Mayans. Phew! Check out the great article here.

What We Resist, Persists & The Solution

I've uncovered and learned about an interesting paradox this week, and I feel compelled to write a little about it.

For some reason, when we have emotions, especially emotions that we do not want to have, we think that if we fight those emotions, that they will just melt away. For example, let's say that you feel depressed about something you feel is going wrong in your life. And let us say that this feeling has made you upset, and it hurts, it hurts real bad. At some point we have all been there.

Usually, at some point we start to think, "Hey, I don't want to be feeling this crappy anymore." And so we try to fight it off, fight off the negativity, fight off the depression, fight off the upset. We fight as hard as possible to make this pain go away.

However, the war we are waging cannot be won. "What we resist, persists."

Thus, we try to ward off the upset, the hurt, the pain, and in the end we fare no better then before.

But this is where the new teaching comes in. I know this might seem like a paradox, and it is, but if we could just allow ourselves to welcome the feeling, the emotion, then it's much easier to let go. If we just allow the feeling, give ourselves permission to feel what we are feeling, then we can better let go of the feeling.

Because at the end of the day, you are not your feelings. When you say "I am sad," that's not really true. You aren't sad, but you FEEL sad. You are not your emotions. And if you are not your emotions then you can let them go and feel better. But we can't let go of our emotions until we welcome them, until we accept them.

And so, when you are feeling something, no matter what it is, grief, anger, resistance, or just plain numbness, and you think you want to move on, then before you do anything - accept it. Accept the feeling. Accept the grief, the pain, the resistance. Welcome it. And once you welcome it, then you can finally start the process of letting it go.

I learned these ideas from a great book - The Sedona Method. I highly encourage you to read it. But even if you never read a word of it, just know that you are not your emotions. And if you accept them, embrace them, welcome them, then you can fully let them go. For good.

Bad Weather? Great Memory! (From Optimistworld.com)

There is evidence to suggest that bad weather makes for great memory. Read it here!

Eyes on the Prize

Tonight I'd like to talk about keeping our eyes on the prize. Often when things get hectic in our lives, we forget our goals and our dreams. We forget the things that used to drive us. We get caught up in the nitty gritty of every day life that we don't allow ourselves to dream, and dream big.

Tonight I'd like to ask you to take a moment, it can be even 5 minutes, but take a moment to remember what your dreams were. Remember what it was you really wanted to do with your life. Or perhaps remember what it was you wanted to create, teach, learn, anything. Is there a place you really wanted to go? Remember what you felt like when you've been to new places that exhilarate you, that get you really excited? Just remember, go back to that place where you allow yourself to dream. Really get specific and remember that dream. The contours of that wonderful reverie.

Look around. Who is there? What are you doing? What have you accomplished (or perhaps not accomplished if you're at the beach)? How do you feel?

Are you feeling it now? Are you in that place, in that dream that you've always wanted but just have not had the time to think about or dream about? Really feel it. Be there.

When you look around and dream a little bit more, then there is a much better chance of actually experiencing the dream. I'm not talking about today, or tomorrow, or maybe not this month or this year. But the more you dream and really fill in the details of that dream the more likely it will come about.

And let's be honest, in the worst-case, and I mean absolute worst-case scenario (and I know a lot of us think this way), you "wasted" a little time feeling good about something, and that is something nice, a little emotional candy in the middle of your day. That's not so bad, is it?

So keep your eyes on the Prize. Allow yourself to dream like you used to, just for a little bit. Try it every day. I promise you will not regret doing so, and there's even a great chance something magical will happen.

If you want to talk with me personally about this or anything else, please feel free to contact me or email me at alec@operationoptimism.org.

Be sure to check back here for updates, as Operation: Optimism! will be unveiling a new coaching program soon that should be a great jolt of positivity to our world!

Love Yourself, Love the World!

There is a famous line from the Bible that says, “love your neighbor as we love ourselves.” This simple idea is perhaps one the most fundamental elements of any faith. We are to approach all of our neighbors, friends, and yes, even enemies, with the love we have for ourselves.

As I was meditating on this concept today, an idea hit me. The entire basis of “loving our neighbors like we love ourselves” is predicated on the fact that we love our selves. Logically, what would be the point of G-d telling us to love others like we love ourselves if we did not love ourselves? But what if someone does not love his or herself? Does that person have an excuse not to love anyone because he or she does not love the self?



I think the answer to all of these questions lies in the fact that the ideal in life is for us to actually love ourselves. Because if we do not love ourselves, then at the end of the day we will not be able to love anyone else. And the more you love yourself, the more you have to give to others.

The word for love in the Bible is “Ahav” from the root “hav.” Hav means to give. The very essence of love is to give until you can’t give anymore. And the only way to give is to fill yourself up with enough so that you have more than enough to give.

And let’s be honest, it’s hard for some of us. It’s hard to love ourselves. When we do things wrong we want to jump on ourselves for being a “stupid this,” or “bad that.” But really, truly, deep down, if we cannot forgive ourselves, love ourselves, and most importantly, accept ourselves, then there will never be enough of us to give to anyone else.

Perhaps some of us are afraid to love ourselves because we are afraid that we will take this idea too far. We might become conceited and that would invalidate the point of trying to love ourselves in the first place. If that is the case then why even try to love ourselves?

I think this is why the phrase is stated affirmatively, because G-d knows that it might be hard to love ourselves, or we might be fearful in loving ourselves.

The key to the right kind of love lies in our intent. We must love ourselves, not because we think we are the greatest, most awesome person in the galaxy. We must love ourselves because we know how special and unique we are, we know that we are truly made in the divine image. Each one of us special, has innate talents and abilities. We are all gifts to the world and it is with this knowledge that we can appreciate and love ourselves.

Yes, it is possible to love ourselves the right way. If we use this knowledge and this power then there is nothing we cannot accomplish.

Therefore, love yourself. Because when you do, and you do it the right way, you will have so much to give. And the more you give, the more you love. Love yourself, and you can and will love the world.