The media, both mainstream and alternative, are full of stories of people who seemingly perform superhuman acts. What are the qualities, the “resources” that these special people possess?
Is it Courage? Strength? Persistence? Compassion? Calm? Confidence? Resilience? Self-belief? Can you recall occasions where you demonstrated one or more of these qualities yourself?
Let us take confidence. Put me in front of an audience to talk about things I know and I am supremely confident. Put me in front of an audience to talk about something I don’t know, or demonstrate a skill I don’t yet have, or select a hostile audience and I am low on or devoid of confidence.
What about strength? Everyone reading this has heard surely of women (it is almost always a woman) lifting cars weighing over a ton up which have fallen off their jacks or supports and trapped their sons/husbands/friends.
Self-belief? I’ve yet to meet anyone who cannot recall at least one situation in which they have self-belief. I’ve met hundreds of people who have issues with self belief in general. It is obvious that the context or situation determines our ability to internally access these “resources”. WE ALL HAVE THEM.
These qualities are not genetically determined. These qualities are not learned on a training course. These qualities are not the preserve of a select few. WE ALL HAVE THEM.
So what is going on here?
Before we proceed here are a few more qualities. Grace, Tenacity, Compassion, Empathy, Integrity, Congruence, Love, Kindness, Patience, Humility, Joy, Peace, Passion, Commitment, Self-Awareness, Flexibility, Discipline, Relaxation, Self-Acceptance, Tolerance.
What would life be like it we could access more of our resources, WHICH WE ALL HAVE, on demand? What would life be like if we could envisage a situation in which previously we have always been fearful, incompetent, anxious, (or any other suitably negative “state” we can recall) and act differently?
Whether or not this is possible for you, how much is your belief that it is impossible the real determinant of the outcome? In other words if you are fearful of public speaking what is it that prevents you from believing you can do it? For most people the biggest issue is that they have never yet done it.
Can you imagine life in which you could not walk, talk, speak, control your bodily functions, reason, control your emotions, ride a bike, swim….? These are all skills which at some time in your life you did not have. They are learned behaviours. Not everyone can ride a bike,not everyone can swim, and we all know (yes including ourselves!) people who struggle with their emotions.
But what of strength, confidence, resilience, determination, compassion? We already have them. They are built-in.
To be continued.
Jack Stewart, June 13th 2017.