STRENGTHS, ABILITIES, APTITUDES, SUCCESSES
IDENTIFYING THEM AND ADDING TO THEM
It is essential that you identify your strengths and successes for several reasons:
1. To solidify your confidence.
2. Something to be happy about (To support the list and idea of What I Have)
3. Identify something to rely on and use (to get more of what you want in life)
4. Identify what to add and/or strengthen for your "arrow quiver" in life
Sadly, I think, we fail to acknowledge the abilities we do have - and we fail to appreciate them, because we have some vague concept that we need to have super-human, idealistic strengths, such as those we imagine others have or from some weird concept of what a human being should be.
DEFINITION
Definition of a strength: Capacity or potential for effective action.
WRITE THESE OUT, AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN
You definitely should do these, no question.
But it'll be easier (and you'll get a quick "bump") if you do the two lists rapidly and imperfectly, allowing only 20 minutes apiece for them. You can come back later and add to them or improve them in some way.
THE "ABOUT ME" NOTEBOOK
I set this up this About Me Notebook as a format for you to organize your accumulated exercises.
My Strengths worksheet, with an example of a strengths list.
REVIEW AND USE TO "AFFIRM"
To be a person of strength and confidence, you must have these clearly in mind (or what we call "top of mind", readily available, especially when you are in a negative frame of mind).
The key ones should be "memorized" and "affirmed", which means "made firm" and solidly believed in and installed. (I found, when in a destabilizing situation, that I could remember who I was by simply repeating, as a "grounding" statement, the top sentence in this piece: My Daily Gounding Summary Page.)
