USA...Unconditional Self Acceptance...a new meaning for the will know letters.  Yes, the United States of America could indeed stand for Unconditional Self Acceptance...if the folks in the United States would do just that...accept themselves as they are, worts, blemishes, smiles and materialism for sure.

But, it turns out, at least according to one of the leading if not the leading cognitive theorist around, that UOA is perhaps even more important.  What is UOA you ask...well the O stands for other and I have to admit I find it much harder to do than USA.  But, it strikes me that it is a key to getting on in the world.

I recently discovered that several people, supposedly friends of mine.  (friends right!)  disapprove of my behavior.  I of course disapprove of some of their behavior.  SO now there we are different folks, different experiences of being alive, at least when it comes to how we view each other.  So now what?  For me...nothing, life goes on.  I fondly remember the good times and would prefer that we accept one another's differences and carry on, but such is not the case for my former friends...(friends right!)  They have little experience in life and only see that creating borders, shunning etc is the proper punishment for social transgressions. 

But, as any behavioral researcher would mistakenly tell you, punishment leads to hostility and aggression.  It would seem that most of the world accepts this body of research, but not so for the cognitive gang.  They instead try to practice UOA and appy rational analyis to the events, the people and simply carry on, rather happily.

Check out the Enchiridion online somewhere.

Cheers,

1:57:08 PM    

Virginity pledges do not reduce STD risk: May encourage high risk sexual behavior. Virginity pledges do not reduce STD risk: May encourage high risk sexual behavior Young adults who take virginity pledges as adolescents are as likely to be infected with sexually transmitted diseases as those who do not take virginity pledges, Yale and Columbia University researchers report in the March 18 issue of Journal of Adolescent Health. The virginity [...] [World of Psychology]
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