This week, I experienced exquisite, absolute joy in the form of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. They were exquisite beyond words and the smiles on their faces (bodies?) were irrepressible. Even as my body and my heart and my head went into overload processing the sheer energy and ecstasy of the performance, I wondered: Why don’t we feel that level of joy in our work? (Yes, I know. But that’s the way my mind works. Its what I do!)
Are the challenges of our work more difficult than the years of training, daily stretching, endless rehearsals and long bus rides? Do we experience greater barriers than having to compete daily for the right to do what we love at the highest possible level? Are we taken less seriously than modern dancers, who fight for respect from the classical world?
I’m just wondering out loud. Could we be that delighted every day? I know we don’t get standing ovations to keep us going, but I have witnessed this kind of joy in master teachers, social workers, parents and mentors. Is there a way to make it contagious?
I’m guessing the answer is in the discipline, the things they do every day to stay at the top of the game. What are these disciplines?
Share yours here.
Here’s a challenge for your next team meeting or parent conference. After everyone has presented the “challenges” (no doubt followed by some little paragraph about strengths), ask this question: “Thanks. That gives us a good understanding of the challenges _____ faces and what resources are available from us. Now, could each team member please share what tools they see this young person bringing to the table?”
Would you get blank stares? Or insightful and enthusiastic revelations about the personal and environmental strengths this young person brings to bear on his/her own challenges? Where the team is on this continuum says a great deal about how successful they will be assisting the young person on their journey.
And by the way, I do mean enthusiastic. Why shouldn’t folks be damn near uncontainable in their desire to share the incredible strengths the young person has already used to survive the adversity in their life. Why shouldn’t the room be filled with awe and wonder that s/he has survived at all; that s/he is doing as we; as s/he is? In fact, why shouldn’t the young person be there, answering this question and basking in the awe of the group.
It’s happening. And it is amazing.
I am a skeptic. The hype and marketing savvy promoting The Secret has been enough to turn me right off. I saw the book a dozen times before I actually picked it up - and several more before I decided to give in a buy it. I determined to cut through the clutter of “cuteness,” drama and hype to digest the message.
There is something here. For me, it is not about the physical “laws of attraction” or quantum physics or some mystical force. It is about how perfect the Universe is and how the clutter in our own minds prevents us from accessing that beauty. Our minds are incredibly malleable and we are refining our ability to guide what gets through to our conscious mind and what we filter out. I will certainly write more about this. For now, reluctant as I was before, I recommend this read. Filter it through what you know and allow the books clutter to fall away. But I recommend this read.
What happens when the concept of focusing on strengths is manipulated for the sole purpose of avoiding responsibility for deficits? To see this in action, one need look no further than the war in Iraq.
At every turn, we hear of the progress being made in the war, how hard the troops are working (which, of course, is rarely in doubt) and how unpatriotic and unsupportive (of these brave men and women) it is to suggest anything otherwise. Just hold tight, the message seems to be, and these strengths shall overcome!
If this is not a legitimate use of strengths-focused thinking, why not? What are the “straight-face” questions we can ask to determine if someone is utilizing the power of focusing on strengths or prostituting these ideas for personal gain. Here’s my best shot at three: