The news is an interesting one. I stayed away from the news for years but now I am addicted even though I can recognize the emotional manipulation in the headlines that are designed to make us outraged, sad, etc. I would find it very difficult to read the news without judging. Maybe I am reading the news in order to judge?


Radical acceptance seems hard to swallow but maybe I am missing something. Although I have a negative outlook, I often feel like I can make a difference, I can make things better. I am working with some people on a project that's not going well. I reached out to someone to see if we could improve the situation. That seems like a better response to me, even if it didn't work? I don't know, this is just so hard - I want to change but not enough to actually do it. I would rather not notice all the flaws with the group or the project in the first place so I can stop wasting my energy trying to fix stuff and just focus on the good aspects.


I'm also still trying to figure out this thought vs. emotion thing. To me, my negative perceptions seem like thoughts, not feelings. I was in a class and really enjoyed some aspects of it. I did not like the fact there were not enough seats for all the students and that I had to get there an hour early to get a seat. I felt annoyed and angry about this and still feel justified in that. How can you let ten people in a class when you have room for seven? Every week I felt stressed about whether or not I would get there in time to get a seat. I guess with a radical acceptance approach, I would have done those same things but let go of the anger and frustration.


Last year I started to work on controlling road rage and feel like I got to a good place. My thoughts about how other people drive aren't going to change how they drive. We all do dumb things sometimes so I assume good intent. All I can do is be an observant, considerate, safe driver myself. That has worked out pretty well for me but I am not sure how to translate it into other aspects of my life.


Does meditation or yoga work for people? I have dabbled over the years but not stuck with it long enough to see any benefit.