2nd Secret, New Earth Post- Acceptance, Enjoyment, Enthusiasm

Here is some more food for thought--These are simply just interpretations and applications, use them as you please or don't use them at all, but I find each of these principles highly beneficial in achieving a life full of content.

There are three forms of consciousness that The New Earth advocates that I think are extremely worthy of using in every present moment of life: Acceptance, enjoyment, and enthusiasm. "You need to be vigilant to make sure that one of them operates whenever you are engaged in doing anything at all- from the most simple task to the most complex. If you are not in the state of either acceptance, enjoyment, or enthusiasm, look closely and you will find that you are creating suffering for yourself and others."

While exercise can be extremely fun, and health food can eventually taste superior to junk food (not to mention make you feel better), understand that reaching this point of view is a process. If you are stuck still dreading each day of exercise, or label health food as bland and dull, at least you can bring forth acceptance to every present moment in which you are engaged with either one of those essentials of losing weight. “Whatever you cannot enjoy doing, you can at least accept that this is what you have to do. Acceptance means: For now, this is what this situation, this moment, requires me to do, and so I do it willingly.” Don’t despise getting healthy, for it can be tough, but rather accept it and come to terms with the present moment, seeing it as something that must be done for your well-being.

Once you have reached acceptance, you will eventually move towards enjoyment. “The peace that comes with surrendered action turns to a sense of aliveness when you actually enjoy what you are doing.” The process of getting fit and being healthy will grow on you. Before you know it, you will enjoy working out and will easily be able to replace your McDonald’s breakfast with some blueberry oatmeal. So don't give up too early. Speaking from experience, I used to fuss and complain when it came to running, feeling as though it was too hard, too strenuous, but through continuous practice I have grown to LOVE almost every aspect of it. It’s all what you get used to. You keep running, and before you know it, not only will you be dropping the pounds, but you will no longer be dreading your run, as it has become part of your daily regimen. It will be like brushing your teeth. You might not love brushing your teeth, but its not like you wake up every morning and say “Ughhh, I really really don’t want to brush my teeth right now.” Ultimately, strive to seek enjoyment from your daily work-outs and healthy lifestyle, for you have accepted that this is what you need to do if you want to lose weight, so to be happy, all you can do is look for the positive in what you're presently doing.

Enjoyment will bring you further and lead you towards enthusiasm. “Enjoyment of what you are doing, combined with a goal or vision that you work toward, becomes enthusiasm.” Once you gain enjoyment from what you’re doing, you can become enthusiastic about doing it and about your goal. By enjoying each present moment, you can always be enthusiastic about what you’re doing. Don’t look to the future to be enthusiastic about some upcoming event. Be enthusiastic about the present moment. The present moment is all that you can be in right now. Be enthusiastic about it and you will find happiness. If you can’t eventually become enthusiastic about your workouts, they aren’t going to last. You’ll be waiting and waiting until you’ve dropped the desired amount of weight that you wanted so that you can finally stop working out. But working out is essential for you whole life. Once you quit exercising, I’m sure you’ll see that quickly you will start gaining all that weight you just lost. Instead, if you can try to accept that exercise is needed, and find enjoyment in doing it, and be enthusiastic about the act of doing it, you will be able to stick with it and keep a balanced weight for life. As quoted in The New Earth, Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Nothing great has ever been achieved without enthusiasm.”

“With enthusiasm you will find that you don’t have to do it all by yourself.” This enthusiasm will bring you energy to keep going, keep you pumping it up at the gym, and keep a smile on your face while you’re at it.

So the next time you go to work out at a time when you may not be feeling too enthused, just think- acceptance, enjoyment, enthusiasm. By following this path, you will be leading yourself towards happiness.