Dear ,

With the first week of our program nearing an end, I want to offer any assistance I can to ensure a great experience for you.

The first week is often challenging, as we’re trying to establish new routines that intentionally disrupt the automatic habits of your day. We expect your mind to resist this change, and most people experience a lot of failures in the first week.

As in learning a new sport, the initial steps involve frequent mistakes and setbacks, from which you learn and grow. So, don’t let your Judge judge you and discourage you for your imperfect practice in the first week. That’s expected.

What's next

The next video will be available in the app on Saturday. Please try to watch the video before Monday.

Warning: The second video is about the Judge Saboteur. The Judge is a very destructive Saboteur that most people underestimate in themselves. To help you expose the true destructive nature of the Judge, Shirzad demonstrates his own brutal Judge during this video session. In the past, some people have been disturbed by this demo and criticized Shirzad for doing it. Shirzad chose to include this demonstration because most people have found it quite helpful in getting in touch with their own Judge. Please come to this session with an open mind.

The video session also includes a powerful visualization exercise. You'll get to visualize yourself in a past situation where you were completely hijacked by your Judge Saboteur, so you can develop a more visceral awareness of your Judge. Again, some people have found this visualization disturbing, while most find it quite impactful.

If you might be disturbed by visualizing yourself hijacked by your Judge, please take steps to protect yourself. Avoid visualizing a scene that might recreate traumatic or deeply unsettling experiences from the past. Pick lighter and more manageable memories to visualize. If you’re not sure, please consult a therapist.

From the Positive Intelligence book, Chapter 4: Judge, the Master Saboteur is extremely helpful preparation for this session.

Remember, building new mental muscles (neural pathways) comes through daily practice. If you’ve had trouble motivating yourself to practice the required 15 minutes/day in the app, please envision the goals you’ve set for yourself and what your life will be like when you achieve them.

15 min/day of practice is just 1.5% of your waking minutes and can be carved out on any busy calendar, so long as you give it high priority. You and your dreams are worth that investment of time.

With gratitude,

Aicila (Eye-ee-sila)

P.S. How has your first week gone? Tell me something you've noticed or learned via the community's Share channel, so others might benefit from our conversation. If you’re not comfortable with that, reach out on email. I'd love to hear back either way.