Which Way Do I Go?

Has there ever been a time you knew you were right about something--when you were totally justified in your position? How does proving you are right impact your ability to be happy? What does it take to set aside an unyielding insistence on proving your version of the truth?

Yesterday, Beth was making airline reservations to go see her mom in Florida who, as you might remember from our last eZine, is in the hospital. Beth has been flying in to support her every few weeks or so, and with this much flying we decided to get the most out of our frequent-flier miles.

Before making reservations, Beth decided to determine the requirements for using our frequent-flier miles. She got all the details and finalized the reservations. Following the instructions we'd been given, we tried to use our frequent flyer miles for an upgrade.

After 45 minutes on hold and speaking with various agents and supervisors, Beth discovered that the original information was incorrect. And now, after already purchasing the ticket, there was no way we could get the upgrade we had hoped for. Frustration and upset only begins to describe the emotional path we had started traveling down.

Then we remembered something that is embodied in this question from The Course in Miracles:

"Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy?"

Remembering this saved us from wasting many hours we might have otherwise spent calling complaint departments and writing letters, all the while traveling farther and farther down the path of frustration and upset.

Every day, each person and situation we encounter brings us this choice. We either make this choice consciously or unconsciously.

Whether we realize it or not, we create a story in each situation that either empowers us or disempowers us--that opens us up to new possibilities or holds us back from them.

At their most valuable, our stories can support us--help us grow and evolve. But oftentimes, we unknowingly allow our stories about what is true, and our desire to be right, to define us and shape our life into something smaller and sadder than it might otherwise be.

Every day, each of us has the opportunity to ask this question, "Do I want to be right, or do I want to be happy?"

Until next month -- Expect the best.

With love and gratitude,
Beth and Neill

Focused Attention Update

New Rules for the
Game of Life

We're very excited about our recent success introducing people to our work, and we're grateful for the support we've received from you in the process. Many of you have been generous enough to share your questions with us--inviting us to respond to your most important concerns and issues.

Replying to your questions has given us insight into the real concerns each of us encounters in our daily lives. This has been a wonderful inspiration for creating new articles that we hope will support people's lives in a concrete way. These articles already have led many people from all around the world to find us and sign up for our Free Weekly Tips and our eZine.

When new people sign up we invite them to send us a question they would like us to answer. This has created a "precious cycle" that allows us to support people across the globe. When we receive permission, we've been posting our replies to these questions on our Focused Attention Community Forum. Take a look.

If you're familiar with our work, you know that we introduce people to a new set of rules for the game of life. Most people play by an old, culturally learned set of rules. This new set of rules is a whole lot more fun to play by and can help you experience much more of what you want in life.

We thought it would be interesting to offer a New Rules Quiz as a monthly feature in our eZine.

The New Rules Quiz

Starting in our next eZine, we'll offer a quiz that will include a statement or expression which highlights the differences between the old rules and new rules.