Strengthen The Strengths

A previous post talked about going back to the comfort zone or mastery of a skill before you again tried to move forward if the mastery was incomplete or uncomfortable. There is another part of that in regards to change. Since change is hard it is good to do all you can to make it easier. When I was a teacher we did a lot with learning disabled children at my school. We were taught to "strengthen the strengths then break the chain at the weakest link". By strengthening the strengths you are aware of what they are and can use them as resources. An example of this was several boys who were taking auto shop and found that they had improved in their reading abilities. They were not pressured about their reading but enjoyed trying to figure out the meaning of print in a repair manual. This came after they were feeling good about the chance to work on cars. If you are a writer and have a big novel to rework that can be daunting. But it will be easier if you identify the strengths you have as a writer. Then look for the (hopefully) few places where you have not shown that strength. If you are fighting bad habits look for the time of day when these habits do not plague you then try to extend this time a little. Or look for your most creative and productive behaviors. You feel good at those times. Strengthen that feeling and then think about engaging in the bad habit. The bad habit will be less appealing because it doesn't go with the creative high. Being in a good mood takes away part of the power of the bad habit and thus makes it a weaker link. That is the power of having a mind set that we are surrounded by magic. That gives us energy to act in powerful and positive ways. Use this energy to find your strengths then break the chain of oppression of bad habits at the weakest link. May the spark be with you.