This has been an interesting past month for me! I've had lots of new understanding and insights about what this experience of being alive is about. Some of these insights arrived when I have been relaxing at the park next to where I work (see me feeding squirrels there in the picture).

Following my question for you in the last issue of this newsletter regarding whether to keep the section on Positive News, I received replies from some of you with your opinion. And the result is... we're getting rid of the Positive News. This will help me to focus on giving you even better content of real value to you. Thank you all for your replies! :-)

The major advancement this month for me has been to finally come up with a launch date for my handbook "From Conflict To Calm - How to Deal Internally With Conflict at Work". The launch date will be 8th March - and there will be a discount available for readers of this newsletter, so keep an eye on your inbox for updates! ;-)

The making of the handbook has also been a growing experience, as it has brought me face to face with limiting beliefs, expressed in the form of resistance. Maybe the next handbook that I will write will be on overcoming limiting beliefs, who knows.

I have come to see, once again, that life is about being before doing, and that when we live focused on being the doing happens almost magically.

For the coming month I invite you to relax more into being - being comfortable within yourself no matter what. See the Thought of the Month below for a way to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Till the next update, keep well!

I have lately experienced several situations in which things didn't go exactly as I wanted them to go. Now, being a bit of a control freak, this was a perfect opportunity for me to learn how to deal internally with my feelings... which is what I'm passing on to you today ;-)

Over the years I have learned to go with the flow much more than I used to - to let go of the need of having things my way and to be open to improvisation. But still, I can notice when I get worked up inside because things don't go as I want them to. I then find myself uncomfortable with the situation - rejecting what is, rejecting the now.

Some of the situations in which I experienced being uncomfortable lately have happened at my day job, while others have happened at home and still some more in relation to my health. I'll give you the example of the situations at work - though you can use what I'm about to tell you for any situation in which you find yourself uncomfortable for whatever reason.

I deal with customers face-to-face, as well as processing a pile of admin work daily. Generally, the interactions with the customers go smoothly, but every now and then there will be a problem processing the customer's request. When this happens, the usual 30-minute interaction can go on for as long as hour and a half. Having a lot of admin work to complete daily on top, sometimes being held up feels frustrating.

So there I was, feeling irritated and uncomfortable with a situation in which I had to sort out some problem for the customer and was stopped from doing other needed work. My problem wasn't so much the situation, but rather that I didn't like feeling uncomfortable.

Realizing that I was unable to change the situation to have it my way (I would have rather had no problem to deal with, and I would have rather continued with the admin work that I had to complete), I searched inside for a way to deal with how I was feeling.

The thought came to me to just make the uncomfortability my 'home' for the time being. I just relaxed into being uncomfortable. I accepted and welcomed that I was uncomfortable with the same openness with which I accept that things are going my way.

Then, as I relished in being uncomfortable, something interesting happened. It felt as if a door to an open space had opened. I was no longer concerned with having the situation going my way or with not feeling uncomfortable.

Experiencing being uncomfortable then felt, somehow, comfortable. I was at peace with how I was feeling. In fact, there was no longer any 'I' feeling, but rather an awareness of what was being felt.

Can you accept how you feel and be comfortable with being uncomfortable?

For instance, you may find yourself uncomfortable when you get stuck in traffic and are in a rush, or when your partner doesn't behave as you want them to, or when you experience a setback.

Next time you find yourself uncomfortable, try making peace with it and accepting the situation and how you are feeling for the time being. Relax into just noticing. Be open to anything that you may then experience as a result.

Not only is this an obvious way of relaxing into what could easily be taken as an opportunity to stress, but also and more importantly it opens the door to approaching life differently.

I'm still on the road - as life goes on I keep on finding opportunities to approach it differently. I will make sure I share my findings with you ;-)

Every month I receive emails from readers - some of them contain questions or comments, and some of them are contributions to the web site, such as a positive story, an article or a tip.

This month SMC from Laredo, Texas (US) shared this moving piece of gratitude:

My sister was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October 15th and they say that the probabilities to live was from 2 to 3 months.

She had surgery in November 3rd and she is still with us TG. Yesterday we spent some time together while she was taking her chemo. She was so happy that you can't tell that she has that horrible disease.

That's why I'm thankful to have her and not only her but the rest of my family.

SMC

You can read this piece of gratitude and comment on it on its page at "I'm thankful for having my sister for another month, better yet for another day!"

Thanks, SMC! :-)

This is a very inspiring talk from Neil Pasricha, who made his way to find something positive to focus on every day after one of his friends took his own life. He created the blog 1000 Awesome Things, which talks about all the little stuff that make our life nicer.

In this talk he reveals the 3 A's of awesome. Get comfortable, and get inspired... The 3 A's of Awesome.

I believe that being grateful for something is one of the most powerful tools to feel better immediately. Here are the two thanking bits of the month:

Thankful for... hot showers! Seriously, I love hot water. And nothing nicer to let go of a bad mood than a hot shower - I always feel relaxed, refreshed and renewed after one.

Thankful for... kindness. I am always in awe and in gratitude of a person's kindness - specially when it's out of the blue or it feels undeserved. From my husband's love and attention when I've been difficult to be with, to a stranger letting me go in front at the gates of the train station, I just so agree with what Robert Anton Wilson wrote about kindness: "Kindness remains to me the most wonderful miracle in this incomprehensible universe".

What are you thankful for? Share your gratitude on this page and read what others are thankful for!

Care to send me your thoughts about this issue's topics? Email me and let me know!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please pass it along to your friends, family and colleagues, or send them to the Dare To Play It Big sign up page. I thank you in advance.

Stay well,

Cristina