Fearless Faith for February

Hi Shrinkstar!

I hope your year is off to a great start and remember: whatever you did in January was enough!

I recently read a great article in the New York Times (read the whole thing here) about composer Jason Robert Brown's two upcoming Broadway musicals. His story as an artist is very interesting because his work has been received in a truly mixed way: he has a Tony award but no real "hits," some shows are highly praised by critics, some get stomped on, some have no financial success on Broadway but are done by every regional theater in the country, some people say he's a jerk, some people say he's a genius, some people think his lyrics are brilliant, some people think he's trite. He sort of "escaped" to LA and took a break from writing, but his desire to create was so strong that it led to two upcoming musicals this season. In the article, JRB described the faith it takes to keep writing despite his winding past with this metaphor:
 

"A pipe organ is so large that the sound emerges two to three seconds AFTER you blow into it. You just have to trust that you're on track."

Um....what?! Is he daring to be vulnerable and remind us that sometimes we take actions and don't see results for 2-3 seconds, days, weeks, months, YEARS, but must trust that it is all working out and getting done in the right time?! But it's so hard, JRB, it's so haaaaaaaard.

Hard, and so dang true. I dare you to take literally 60 seconds and think of an instance in which you said to yourself/your boyfriend/your dog "wow, I had completely forgotten about that but it looks like it finally paid off." It has happened to all of us, and doesn't it feel great when it does?
It feels VICTORIOUS and I think we'd all like to feel that way more often.

How do we do it? By building a strong foundation of confidence and taking the time to remind ourselves of our past victories. How do we build the foundation?
One li'l trust brick at a time.

This month's Shrink Session is going to be all about taking fearless actions without worrying about the result. Will you dare to take action without seeing the whole path? Can you create a new belief and set a new intention this month that will get you clear and ready to go big?

Plus, Bring a Date is back! For the third year in a row (whoa), bring a date to class on Monday, February 10th, and in honor of loooooove, you each pay TEN BUCKS. Is this real life? (Yes.)

You might remember that I said in my January email that my one wish for myself and for you this year is that we all become more ourselves than ever before. That's exactly what JRB is talking about. It's not about doing things the "right" way, it's doing it YOUR way. My actions are probably really different from yours. Your pace is different from mine. We all need different things at different times, and that's the beauty of Shrink. This is YOUR class: your pace, your workout, your shift, your thoughts. I'm here to guide you, but I want you to know that you are safe to do it your way. You take what's best and leave all the rest.

Here's to your victories, big and small. We celebrate them all! Let's make more.

I can't wait to see you. In fact, I'm DYING to see YOU!

Love,
Olivia

PS: I hope your team wins tonight! xox

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, you beautiful soul warrior! 

I am so proud of everything you did in 2013, and it was exactly enough. You did enough, loved enough, made enough, sweated enough, created enough, it was all enough. I tip my (giant, fur-lined) hat to you, and I know you will do exactly enough of what you need in 2014.

On New Year's Eve, my husband, dear friend and I decided to make vision boards. Perfect NYE activity, right? Like all normal almost-30-year-olds we put the Frozen soundtrack on repeat, ordered Chinese food and starting cutting up the piles of magazines I conveniently hoard. Everything was going beautifully- we were singing along, I was having some major revelations about the kind of year I want to have based on what images and words I was drawn to, I was scarfing down veggie mei fun like a boss...until I started thinking "well, wait a sec...this isn't really a sacred atmosphere. Should we be listening to some type of chant? Should there be candles lit? Should I have smudged the room with sage first? Wait, wasn't I supposed to write out my goals first? Why am I only cutting out words? I'm pretty sure there's MSG in this food. Where am I going to hang this? I don't have a plan for this vision board. What is MSG? I'M NOT DOING THIS RIGHT!!!!"

Hi, can I get a table for Crazy, party of one?

Happily, I was able to shut that psycho thought pattern down pretty quickly, and here's how:
By remembering that my biggest wish for 2014 was to become more myself. To listen to my intuition, feelings, and desires more than ever before. To be more Olivia. Once I remembered that, it was easy to look around and realize I was doing it EXACTLY right: showtunes ARE my sacred jams, I freaking love giant bowls of noodles, I am a word person and scented candles make me sneeze. I was making a vision board in the style of Olivia. Thus, I was doing it perfectly.

My greatest wish for you this year is that you become more yourself than ever before.

I hope you tune in to your intuition more than ever. I hope you listen to your body more than ever. I hope you speak your truth more than ever. I hope you feel your feelings harder than ever. I hope you stand by your choices more than ever. I hope you look in the mirror and feel love more than ever. I hope you are more financially abundant than ever. I hope you stretch and grow and bend and twist and cry and laugh more than ever, all in the name of becoming more yourself.

I am so excited for Shrink Session January. We'll be talking about going at our own pace, because we are all running our own race. Our mantras will help tap into self-assurance, confidence, and power and you know our dance moves will be wild and sweaty. I hope you join us. Your special light will be celebrated by a group of people who are on your side, who want you to succeed. It's such a wonderful community, and we love to expand!

It's easy to feel overwhelmed at this time of year. It feels like you're bombarded with the attitude of "OMG WE ARE ALREADY 5 ENTIRE DAYS INTO 2014 HAVE YOU LOST 15 POUNDS/GONE VEGAN/MET YOUR SOULMATE/PURCHASED A BROWNSTONE YET!??!?!" Whoa. In our gratitude list group, one beloved member begins every list by saying "I am grateful to awaken alive and well this day." It doesn't get any more beautifully simple than that, and truly, THAT's what it's all about.

May your 2014 be full of joy at waking up alive, well, and YOURSELF every day.
Happy New Year!
Love,
Olivia xxoo