A man was selling oranges in the middle of a road. He was illiterate, so he never read newspapers. He put some signs along the road and spent the whole day praising the flavor of his wares.
Everyone bought from him and the man thrived. With the money he placed more signs on the road and began to sell more fruit. Business was growing fast when one day his son – who was educated and had studied in a big city – asked him:
“Father, don’t you know that the world is going through very hard times? The economy of the country is in an awful state!”
Worried by this, the man reduced the number of signs and began to sell fruit of inferior quality because it was cheaper. Sales slumped immediately.
“My son is right,” he thought. “Times are very hard.”
A wonderful story for the actual times where also “autorities” tell everybody, how hard the times are. And matching to this I publish the actual newsletter of Chief Joseph and I hope that this gives some insight as to not listen to others but trust ONESELF!
Chief Joseph
First of all, to satisfy those who may be curious, “OPO syndrome” means caving in to other people’s opinions.
That is certainly one of the greatest “bugaboos,” if you will, in your lives.
You have been taught, from time immemorial, to honor others, to always be there for them, to do their bidding, you might say. You have heard this so often from your “authorities” (parents, churches, governments, schools, etc.) that it has become part of your being. It is part of what you call the mass consciousness. You don’t question or doubt it, you just buy into it.
John was certainly doing that when he started stewing about that author’s opinions of him and his work. He had to ask himself why. His internal dialog went something like this:
“Why does it matter to me what she thinks? Why should I give a damn what other people’s opinions of me are? I’m doing work I love. It’s my life’s work, and I can clearly see the positive effects it’s having on my own life and the lives of many others. That’s all that matters to me.”
We would urge all of you to have that same dialog with yourselves.
Are you doing something — anything, maybe everything — in your lives mainly or solely to please others? If so, why?
Most often you’ll discover, if you carry this self-talk far enough, you’re afraid of what others would think if you just did whatever you pleased, if you did only what you loved, if you did only what feels good.
That, friends, is the “bottom line,” the key to reclaiming your power — doing only what feels good.
It’s also the key to all the abundance you’re ever dreamed of — money, health, happy relationships, satisfying work/play, and so on. You will always find joy in doing what’s right for you. And you will always know what’s right for you by the joy it brings you, by how it feels. If it feels good, do it!
Let 2009 be the year you reclaim your birthright, your power, the year you honor yourselves as much as you honor others. Let it be your year of empowerment.
It is not giving up control; it is taking control. That is true surrender. The idea simply becomes effortless, and that is why many of you think you are actually giving up control, because to you, the only reason you feel you’re in control is when you are expending effort.
