Finding What Works

I was recently gifted with a book titled, "Wide Open, On Living with Passion and Purpose" by Dawna Markova, Ph.D., (www.Dawnamarkova.com). She is an expert in thinking patterns.

This is from p.83:

The Art of the Possible

"Milton Erikson, M.D., beloved clinical hypnotherapist, used to tell his students that the best way to work with people having a problem is to find their historical pattern of success and help them connect to it when they're having difficulty. When we're stuck, you can bet we have been pointing out to ourselves what's wrong and thinking of ways to fix it instead of building on what is working. The simplest indicator of the ineffectiveness of this is noticing your energy level. Focus on what hasn't worked for you today and your energy will flatten or sink. Focus on the best of what you did today, and your vitality level will go up. I don't know about you, but if I were empress of the world and wanted people to find and live according to their purpose, I'd give them good feelings, and when they were off course, I'd give them a sense of emptiness and numbness."



As I move into a new decade of physical training and coaching, I desire to engage with this type of progress. All the resolutions and "I shoulds" can become so exhausting if they are not in line with what is truly right for us. I want to replace the punitive talk about "laziness" or "overeating" with empowering talk about feeling energized, healthy and well nourished. That is how lasting progress is made.