Use everything

Each of you will have goals that are harder to reach, and evident strengths and weaknesses to bring to bear or mitigate to get there.

Some of the weaknesses are resource needs that are critically limited.   This means, in connection with your goals, it is the absence of these resources that stops you dead.  For resource here I mean anything useful: people, thoughts, money, tools, anything.

Have you ever felt though, that things you might need seem to turn up just when you need them?  Often things that have been there all along and then a need arises and you recognise the resource.

This has to do with mental priming.  You've heard that you cannot tell the mind "not" to think of something (usually we are asked not to think of an elephant :-)).  Similarly if you decide to focus on anything, a particular colour or number for example, the mind immediately starts to find it and it can seem to become suddenly abundant.  It's not changed in fact, but your attention has.

If your motivation for your goals is high enough for it to get your full attention, don't let that be sabotaged by the absence of a critically limited resource need.  Try working on the problem, for example using a forcefield exercise or CEDAC.  As you do so, firstly sift through all your existing resources and resource combinations,  work thoroughly through it and use everything to start with.

"If I used anything and everything around me and in me, what ideas do I have that will move me forwards?"

Only after a full review do you then choose two or three pathways to try.

Use everything.  Milton Erickson called it "utilisation" in a slightly different context, but it's a great idea to use everywhere.

Energised or drained?

I'm sure you have had a session reviewing your strengths and weaknesses.  The analysis is always interesting but how can we tell if it's correct?

The problem with conscious analysis is that we are often unconscious of our behaviours, let alone the reasons for them.

A good clue is to follow the signals your body gives you naturally.  When you are playing to your real strengths and at your best, you may find it feels effortless or that your energy rises, that you have a buzz, and it feels like the real you, that you lose track of time.

Equally, if you are in a situation which challenges your weaknesses, you are likely to find time standing still, your gut wrenching and your head spinning, everything being affected and your energy literally draining away.

Follow your own energy for clues for your current strengths, and obviously, some ideas on what to do if you want to raise your personal energy and effectiveness.

Bear in mind, all real strengths are hard won and take years of application, so perhaps your strengths, and whether you are energised or drained, are a choice you can make.