Hi! Thanks for stopping into check out my blog.

I am Paul Flood,the Optimistic Heart. If not, it's nice to meet you for the first time! In a later post, I'll let you know where the name Optimistic Heart came from. It's an interesting story.

As I see it, an optimist is someone who knows that something greater is trying to, and eventually will emerge. I'm the first to admit that there's a lot of negative stuff happening around the world but I also know it's my choice how it will impact me and how I see things. 

That's part of what I teach. I show people how to look at things in a different way. In spite of things that are going on all around then it is their choice as to how they perceive and process the events and their life. It is so easy to look at the things that happening as negative and as having the power to control our lives and happiness. 

It doesn't have to be that way. As I hear people talk about themselves, problems and shortfalls in very disparaging ways, it's apparent the conversations in their heads and self-judgment are limiting and imprisoning them in many ways.

The ego, inner judge and the critic is in control. No matter what you seem to do, it's always there, making you feel guilty and inadequate. If you lack the tools and training to deal with the IC (inner critic), it takes control and will always be there to hold you back or bring you down.

I used to believe the the way to silence the IC was to either pretend it wasn't there or talk over it with motivational sayings, affirmations, meditation, prayer or any of the other tools and methods tools I learned from different authors, teachers, and gurus. That is like trying to heal a wound that was created by a large splinter or piece of glass stuck in your body without first removing it. That's not healing, that's denial. 

In spiritual terms, that's known as spiritual bypass, or pretending that you can ignore what is really happening inside you and your emotional issues without working to heal them first. I found a healing process that works. It does take some time but a lot less than you might think it would.

It's a training that that involves practice, commitment and knowledge. It's a process that you follow, step by step. It includes a lot of the tools a message I mentioned above but it starts with recognizing:

• You have a role to play in your healing and awakening. 
• You have incredible power and abilities that can be unleashed 
• You have emotional and psychological barriers/wounds that you can heal so they no longer control your life
• You need to become used to watching your thoughts. A friend of mine says to watch yourself like a hawk. Practice watching yourself and be okay with what you see.You're a pretty awesome person!
• There are certain keywords and key phrases that are keeping you and a prison back at you must learn to eliminate from your vocabulary.
• There are other keywords and key phrases that dramatically impact your life and thoughts every time you say them so how they are used is critical. I like to call them tools that silence the Inner Critic. 
• It doesn't matter what other people think of you.
• How you start and end your day determine what your day is going to be like and you always have a choice to decide how you are going to perceive events in your life and how they will impact you, either positively or negatively. 
• There is a process that puts you in control and you can learn it
• Every day is a new start. The past is over and the future hasn't happened. The only moment you can control is now.

In this blog, I'll cover the points above and go into more details about the steps I listed above and give you many of the tools and methods that I've used to go from a "successful" corporate person to a flat-broke recovering alcoholic to a new life that I believe is filled with love, wonder, potential and optimism.

It's time to step into a new beginning. Looking forward to seeing you again.

Paul