Transform your weaknesses into strengths…
It is too easy to get stuck in a rut and feel that it is impossible to get out, purely because of our negative perspectives about who we are and what we are capable of. Now that we are just passed the darkest time of year, we can see the bulbs rising up through the wet earth, giving us a sign of hope for what is to blossom. What do you wish to blossom in your life?
I would like to encourage you to use this time, prior to spring, to do the groundwork of transforming your perceived weaknesses into strengths, with Golden Words. Golden Words are a journaling tool I found from on of the original journaling queens, Julia Cameron, in her book – The Vein of Gold. This is a tool to clear out the weeds before planting the seeds. It goes like this…
List 10 things that you perceive as or have been told were your weaknesses, then use your creative imagination, goodwill and compassion to transform them into strengths! For example:
Sensitive transforms into richly perceptive.
Bossy transforms into entrepreneurial.
Impractical transforms into deeply creative.
Rigid transforms into having boundaries.
Boring transforms into secure.
Loud transforms into vivacious.
Loser transforms into bohemian.
Naïve transforms into shoshin (a wise beginner’s mind).
Shy transforms into enigmatic observer.
Attention seeker transforms into gregarious entertainer.
These words on in italics are the Golden Words that you can keep as a reminder on your phone or on a piece of paper in your wallet. Use them as a daily reminder of how wonderful you are and this change in your internal perception will change everything. From how you approach a conversation, to how you cut your hair, to how you allow yourself to try something that you would never have been so bold to try before.
Try it now for yourself. What are your Golden Words?
Caveat... This is an exercise in building up your self-esteem, self-confidence and self-efficacy. This is not an exercise in active ignorance or avoidance of the areas in your life that need your awareness in order to evolve. If you have always been told that you are bossy then perhaps you need to be more aware about the way you command your presence aggressively? If you have always been told that you are too sensitive then perhaps you need to be more aware about the way you take everything personally when it is not intended that way? Let this be an exercise in finding a healthy balance between self-awareness and self-confidence.
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“So much energy is wasted knocking on doors that won’t open and refusing to walk through others that open to the touch. We pound on the door to certain establishments, wanting someone, the right someone, to open the door, invite us in, and certify us as “real” artists [insert your aspirational title]. We crave a stamp of approval we are meant to give ourselves. Ironically, when we all give ourselves, by our own hand, the dignity we crave and the right to support and validate our own work, so many locked doors mysteriously open.”
The Vein of Gold by Julia Cameron
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Meditation... Enhance this transformative journaling practise by listening to our latest meditation – Feed Your Demons. This is a meditation to gain perspective and move through limiting patterns of discomfort, fear or worry. Inspired by the Tibetan practise of Chöd. Do not attempt this practise without professional support if you suffer with PTSD or any traumatic past experience. Use this practise to support you through everyday limitations and frustrations. Should deeper layers of suffering be revealed then please seek the help of a mental health professional or try this free resource Just a Thought as a first step.