The phrase strength to strength captures one of my core beliefs about growth and change. As we make our way through life, if we can tap into the strengths we already have, we are better able to face challenges with renewed confidence and vitality. Any growth we achieve in the process will be more likely to sustain and lead to meaningful change into the future. It is very common to get caught up in a deficit-based focus — in ourselves and with our spouses, partners, children, and families. While we certainly want to face problems head-on, it is easy to get stuck on what is not working. Recognizing, acknowledging and building on those internal and external resources can help to further strengthen us during times of challenge and crisis. To me, this is what it means to be “strength-based.”
We all know something about building on our strengths — even in the face of weakness and pain. For example, if you are literally struggling to carry things in your day-to-day life and you go to a gym and work with a trainer to build strength in your arms, the arm muscles you build are muscles that already know something about strain, lifting and carrying. You are not creating muscles outside of your body. You are using the body you have to develop your muscles — they may have gotten a little out of shape, but they are just waiting for you to redevelop them. You will use your own strength to develop more strength. What if your legs are a little stronger than your arms? The trainer will encourage you to use your leg strength to protect your back and give you more balance while you work on your arms. You will develop your arms more effectively and efficiently by working with a trainer and taking full advantage of putting the leg strength you already have to good use. Over time, as your arms become stronger, you experience a sense of lightness, balance and ease when you are faced with shouldering all sorts of things that may have seemed like too much to carry in the past.