What is my Strongest Self?
Your Strongest Self is you at your best, performing like Tiger Woods, Oprah, Rafael Nadal, Danica Patrick or a Dale Earnhardt, Jr.-- hitting on all cylinders and reaching levels beyond what your old identity knows how to achieve.
Your Strongest Self is you in The Zone--connected to all the parts of your personality, your inner resources, and the integration of all parts of your brain.
It's you freed of your old, limited identity; you empowered to stand up and speak up for the weak, fearful part of you that's stuck in the delusion that it's alone and separate.
It's you awakened to act from the spirit and courage of your true human nature, playing your proper leadership role in managing your life. It's you using both the left and right hemispheres of our brain to provide you with more creative solutions to life challenges.
Your Strongest Self is you observing your learned reactions, beliefs, and fears and using your unique human ability to choose to act in ways that are more congruent with your current goals, achievements, and higher values. It's your essential Self.
Your Strongest Self is the more effective manager of your life who shows up to replace your dictatorial, inner critic. It operates from your new human brain and its leadership ability to integrate all parts of you around your higher mission and vision without coercion or threats.
A groundbreaking method for performing at one's personal best in all aspects of life. We often make our worst decisions when we act from a weak, limited sense of self; our best decisions when we expand our identity to include more of our brain and inner resources.
In Awaken Your Strongest Self, Dr. Neil Fiore, Ph.D. introduces a revolutionary four-step program that shows you how to break free of self-destructive habits, increase productivity and creativity, and draw on your innate strengths by using the newest part of your brain-your Strongest Self.
How you can feel strong when you've been shy all your life and been taught to be nice to everyone else:
- Regardless of how shy a woman feels about defending herself, she can feel empowered and fierce when defending and speaking up for her child. At that moment something shifts or opens up and expands your identity to include more of who you truly are-more of your brain power and physical and emotional strength. It's more than adrenalin, it's an insight into who you can be most of the time, like getting into The Zone or The Groove that athletes and musicians talk about. Suddenly you are beyond and above your everyday identity.
- When your major identity is that of a shy person you need to stand up and speak up for that part of you just the way you would if someone is mistreating your child.
- That strong Self that is awakened when feeling protective of a child or an animal can learn how to show up, stand up, and speak up for your worth as a person and demand respect on the job and at home.
- Luckily you don't have to create a Self; you just have to wake it up to play its proper role in managing your life.
- You shift Perspective and see and hear the smaller parts of you; you shift to a compassionate leadership Voice that integrates all parts of you around your higher goals and values; and you shift to a Protective Role that empowers you to represent the fearful parts that are stuck in the past.
- If you over-identify with the weak, frightened parts of you, your strongest Self goes to sleep. Your sense of who you are needs to expand to include more of the strong, wise aspects of your personality.
- You may be stuck in an identity from high school in some areas of your life and an identity from the age of some trauma or loss at the age of 5, 6, or 7. Yet, it is the mature self that must face today's challenges and opportunities and use the skills and knowledge you have as an adult.
- When you've integrated all the parts of your personality around your higher brain and self, everything's easier because you work as a team.
- If you're struggling from a small identity you say things like "It's hard. I don't know how to do it. But I don't feel confident." Your identity is acting as if it's alone.
- It's like trying to carry 20 lbs of laundry with one arm held out at should height. It is hard if you do it that way, separate from the rest of your body and the support of your legs and the floor. But if you bring your arms in close to your hips and bend your knees you're able to easily carry laundry or a baby or groceries or logs. You instinctively know to put your arms in and move from the strength of your hips and legs. You're connected to the rest of you, not trying to struggle with just your conscious mind.
- This may sound idealistic but I believe your integrated, strongest Self operates out of the highest form of human brain with compassion and altruism. You are strong enough to embrace all of human experience and emotions-like a parent holding a crying child-you say "Yes, I know it hurts and you're scared; I'm with you. You're not alone with this. You're perfectly human. I won't leave you."
- By the way, when you use the same compassionate voice when talking to yourself, the frightened aspects of your personality calm down. Your worrying mind relaxes because it now has a self that is capable of listening and accepting its human vulnerabilities, losses, and victories.
- Stress is a reaction to messages of danger. When you make yourself safe with you, the stress response quiets within 30 seconds or less. Your strongest Self takes responsibility for saying "This isn't the end of the world. I won't make you feel bad over this. Your worth is safe with me, regardless of what anyone says."
- When your higher, human brain says "this isn't an 8.0 earthquake, it's only a 2.0" the rest of you follows its lead and lets go of muscle tension in just one breath.
Dr. Neil Fiore is the bestselling author of The Now Habit and The Road Back to Health. He was a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne, a manager for Johnson & Johnson, and has worked as a psychologist at the Counseling Center of the University of California, Berkeley.
Neil now conducts seminars and lectures at major schools and businesses, including the Smithsonian Institute, the University of California, Berkeley Extension, and the New York Open Center.
For more information, visit www.neilfiore.com and www.yourstrongestself.com
>> Buy this book on Amazon: Awaken Your Strongest Self
Please join Neil for a book signing:
July 12
Books Inc.
1760 Fourth Street
Berkeley, CA
Phone: (510) 525-7777
Website: www.booksinc.net
On Aug. 7th he has an all-day seminar in San Francisco at UC Extension. For more information, visit extension.berkeley.edu
