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Psychological Strength
 
by Roy Posner and MSS

Strength and Accomplishment

Strength and Life Response

Strength that Overcomes the Negative

Strength and Goodness Together

Strength in Tandem with Other Attributes

Harmful Strength

Levels of Strength

Strength & Leadership

The Strength of the Divine

Strength and Accomplishment
 (topic)

ARTICLE on Personal Strength

How one's personal psychological strength is key to success and happiness in life.

 

Priority of Individual Characteristics for Accomplishment

The requirements of accomplishment for an individual in order of importance are strength, organization and skills.

Requirements for Accomplishment

In order to accomplish and be joyful in life one must have the right attitudes, psychological strength, show deep concern for others, have the full requirement of skills and knowledge, be organized to the hilt, and have direction. We can measure ourselves and determine who we are by considering these factors in our lives.

 

Strength as Key Attribute of Success
Psychological strengths is one of several human qualities -- along with energy, direction, organization, capacity, and attitude -- that are key to great success and accomplishment. Without it, we will be kept from ever rising to a higher level of achievement -- we are likely to fall back, and even be crushed out of existence.

 

Strength Accomplishes
Strength accomplishes, weakness fails.

From Weakness to Strength
Inner, psychological strength is an important determining factor in your ability to succeed in life. We have seen that those who are strong, succeed; while those who are weak, fall back or fail. We have also noticed that if you make the effort to exercise strength in areas where you have demonstrated weakness in the past, life can suddenly and abundantly respond. For example, one man moved from weakness to strength by bringing up an important issue with a business partner that he was previously reluctant to raise. As a result, not only did he resolve that particular problem, but a six-month neck ache instantly disappeared! Action Plan: Think about ways you have been, or are currently expressing psychological weakness in your work, in your relationships, or in other areas of your life. Consider what was, or is at the root of the problem. Now come up with a plan to exercise your strength, and then carry it out. Watch as life responds miraculously thereafter!

 

Thoughts on Psychological Strength

-Our inability to exercise our psychological strength is one of the great human failings of life. It not only can lead to ongoing and pressing problems, but can also lead to tragedy.

-Even selflessness, self-giving, and unconditional love cannot stand up to meanness, cruelty, and brutality when inner strength is missing.

-If we understand the ways in which we been helpless, powerless, and vulnerable in the past, and reverse those tendencies in the present, we will not only improve the conditions of life around us in a solid manner, but under the right condition, we can evoke magnificent positive responses from life.

 

What Decides is Strength
  • What decides is strength, organised strength to action.
  • At the earliest stages of society, it was physical strength. Now it is the strength of knowledge of information that can stir people to action at the elections or on the road.
  • This strength can be that of Truth or Falsehood, Good or bad, but what counts is strength. (MSS)

Examples of Psychological Strength and Weakness

Example Expressions of Psychological Strength

  • Not bothered by the positive or the negative; i.e. equality

  • Unflinching in the face of adversity

  • The ability to stand up for what’s right and just

  • Sticking to one's belief through thick and thin

  • Willingness to give up a limited belief

  • Persistence and determination to achieve a goal

  • Endurance, perseverance, and the ability to push on

  • Fearlessness, courage, bravery

  • Taking to action instead of shirking it

  • Toughness, resiliency

  • Never say die attitude

  • True individuality instead of following the herd

  • Wiling to make the hard, tough decisions

  • Pursuit of the truth; and to stand up for it

  • To see beyond the material/mechanistic to the subtle & causal

  • Not be be determined by the surface; the sense influenced

  • The will to see through the facade, the superficial

  • The fortitude to complete a work; to see it to its conclusion

  • Willingness to see every point of view

  • The drive to get at the heart of the matter

  • Controlling one's lower nature


Example Expressions of Psychological Weakness

  • Frailty, Timidity

  • Helplessness

  • Powerlessness

  • Lack of fortitude

  • Lacks resiliency, toughness

  • Lack of will

  • Lack of direction

  • Lack of energy

  • Overly deferential

  • Shrinking, cowering

  • Dependent on others

  • Accepts abuse

  • Unable to act

  • Lacks knowledge; doesn’t know what to do

  • Lack of beliefs

  • Fearful

  • Lack of courage

  • Lack of self-esteem

  • Lack of faith in self

  • Gullible, naïve

  • Accepts the social norm

  • Gives in to lower nature

  • Accepting things only at face value

Strength of Eric Brockovich

In the film of the true life story of Erin Brockovich's successful effort to overcome an injustice we see a fantastic demonstration of strength expressed as determination, courage, perseverance, toughness, and willingness to confront life's difficulties head on. That strength ends in a tremendous achievement and joy for her constituency.

Positive Strength Expresses as Generosity
Rhett in Gone with the Wind had extraordinary strength in the physical and an equally great strength of mind. Strength when it is positive expresses as generosity. He was generous to a fault. (MSS)

Scarlett's Strength in Gone with the Wind
Scarlett in Gone with the Wind is entirely without scruples or regard for convention. Her strength is unmatched, physical as well as psychological. This attracts Rhett and he could not tolerate her eluding him. (MSS)

Strength Works In Tandem with Other Attributes

To accomplish greatly strength needs to be tied to other fundamental qualities. For example, a sports team needs to meld strength with talent, even innovation. A business needs to meld strength with teamwork, concern for staff, commitment to the customer, organization, and other high values to succeed. A project team needs to meld strength of commitment and bond with skills, organization, motivation, direction, cooperation, coordination, integration, and other attributes and values. In other words strength alone doesn't accomplish, but it is a critical foundation of accomplishment. Without it, little can be accomplished. 

 

On Strength
What does not yield to argument yields to strength. (MSS)

 

On Helplessness
A sense of helplessness is the perfect condition and occasion to offer ourselves to the Higher Power. It is also an indicator and measure of our lacking faith and aspiration.

Strength and Life Response
 (topic)

 

Strength Attract
Among the human behaviors that trigger instantaneous and abundant positive life responses is by acting from strength when one is weak or in a weak position.

Psychological Strength & Life Response
When we shift from inner weakness to psychological strength, not only do we create practical positive conditions -- but when that transition is great enough and meets the demands of life, we can attract instances of instantaneous good fortune.

 

Life Response and Psychological Strength
Any attempt to move from weakness to psychological strength, will not only bring about higher levels of accomplishment and success that one might come expect from such actions, but can also under the right conditions evoke magnificent responses from life.

 

Greater Psychological Strength Attracts Positive Life Response
 Life responds to an effort to increase one's (psychological) strength. This is especially true for those who lack it. Any effort to increase one's strength will meet with positive results in life.

LIFE RESPONSE EXAMPLES
-There was a businessperson who had a partner. The partner was outspoken, crude, and not very easy to like. The "good" partner was conscientious, well-mannered, and civilized. One day the good partner realized that what he himself lacked, the crude partner had in abundance. That was strength.  Strength to act, strength to stand up to adversity, and strength to take control. When the well-mannered partner exercised his strength everything began to go right in his company. Orders suddenly came in, and energy increased all around him. Moreover, the crude partner stopped his crude behavior, and even cowered before his partner.

-A man had a sever pain in his upper neck for six months. Also shortly thereafter he began working on a project that was in a state of much confusion. He mistakenly worked on the project, even though he and his manager had not come to any proper agreement. He was doing much work without any pay on it. He finally confronted the manager on this. At the end of  the meeting he noticed that the pain he had for six months had completely disappeared.

 

Strength of Eric Brockovich

In the film of the true life story of Erin Brockovich's successful effort to overcome an injustice we see a fantastic demonstration of strength expressed as determination, courage, perseverance, toughness, and willingness to confront life's difficulties head on. That strength ends in a tremendous achievement and joy for her constituency.

Examples in Literature of Strength

-In the book Lady Anna, Anna the young Anna who lives with her mother shows great strength and determination to be with Daniel, despite her mother's interminable objection and abuse. She is true to her feelings and remains strong in that determination to be with someone she loves. In the end, she prevails, despite great danger to Daniel.

 

-Likewise in Pride and Prejudice Lady Catherine browbeats Eliza the heroine, threatening her if she marries Darcy. Yet she remains firm, adamant, and is not taken in by Lady Catherine's power of authority to present her from marrying Darcy. As a result, life responds in her favor, when Darcy comes the next day to ask for her hand in marriage because he heard from Lady Catherine that Eliza may be in love with her. (Lady C's foil thus backfires.) In other words, taking to strength can cause life to respond positively in your favor soon thereafter.

 

Overall, Eliza exhibits great strength of character as well -- indicated by her psychological strength, intelligence, ability to think and act for her self, etc. 

 

Eliza's Strength in Pride and Prejudice
It requires the active intervention of Darcy’s aunt Lady Catherine whose intention is to prevent the very marriage she ends up encouraging. Her report of the rumors and her aggressive interrogation of Eliza about her intentions with her nephew makes Eliza realize for the first time that Darcy must still be harboring some hope of marrying her. Having failed to obtain a pledge from Eliza, who responds with strength to Lady Catherine’s aggression, the old matriarch rushes off to exert her influence on Darcy. When Darcy learns from her that Elizabeth has not openly rejected the rumors, his hope is rekindled and he hastily seeks the opportunity to visit her. Lady Catherine’s perverse opposition to their marriage enables the two to finally come together. (MSS)

Scarlett's Strength in Gone with the Wind
Scarlett in Gone with the Wind is entirely without scruples or regard for convention. Her strength is unmatched, physical as well as psychological. This attracts Rhett and he could not tolerate her eluding him. (MSS)

 

Strength of Young Elizabeth

In order to accomplish and succeed in life one needs energy, skill, knowledge, right attitude, personal organization, direction, drive, and many other qualities. One additional trait that stands out amongst the most successful of people is psychological strength. Those who show toughness, are unflinching in the face of adversity, are willing to take action when others would shrink demonstrate innate strength that invariably brings success. In fact, those who demonstrate such "intestinal fortitude" not only are more likely to invite success into their lives, but can evoke powerful and most unexpected positive responses from the environment. Sometimes the response to one’s exercise of strength -- especially in the face of prior weakness -- can alter the course of one’s life and propel one to the pinnacles of success. Such was the case for one young queen of 16th century England.

 

History tells us that Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, the second of Henry’s six wives. When Elizabeth was only two years old, her father ordered the beheading of her mother. Then when King Henry died, his son, the nine-year-old Edward, who was Elizabeth’s half-brother, succeeded him. After Edward died, six years later, Elizabeth's half-sister Mary became queen of England. Mary, who was Catholic, earned the name ‘Bloody Mary’ for her persecution of Protestants during her reign. Because Elizabeth herself was Protestant, and because Mary feared Elizabeth might be plotting against her life, Elizabeth was held in prison throughout most of Mary's reign. However, in the end, Mary reluctantly accepted Elizabeth’s right to the throne, and after the queen died, the very-young Elizabeth ascended to the throne of England.

 

As it turned out, just at the time Elizabeth took up the reigns, English society was being torn apart by the conflict between the Catholics and Protestants. With each side seeking to win favor from the young queen -- frequently accompanied by threats of retribution if she did not bend in their favor -- each day Elizabeth lived in fear; not only that her regime would topple, but worse still, that she herself would be killed.

 

As portrayed in the film Elizabeth (1998), one day Elizabeth calls a meeting of the leaders of the two religious groups in an attempt to negotiate a settlement. Though she felt that she was in an exceedingly precarious position, she managed to hold back her fears, and began the meeting by making the extraordinarily bold statement that “no group had an exclusive claim on God”. As a result, gasps and shouts of “outrage” and “heresy” were heard throughout the chamber. And yet, instead of cowering before the protestations of the religious leaders, Elizabeth gathered herself and the strength and courage to continue her presentation before the gathering. She then went on to argue that that all sides had to work together for the sake of the people of England, not for the narrow interests of a particular religion. In fact, she insisted on this point, and would have it no other way. She argued that as representative of the people’s interests, it was her duty to bring the two conflicting religious parties to a decisive settlement.

 

Quieted by her persuasive arguments, and her unexpected forcefulness and show of strength, both sides did in the end come around to her point of view -- with a majority voting to support her proposal for a common English church. This was in fact one of the great turning points in English history, as it overcame the conflicting sectarian interests, subdued and weakened the power of the church, strengthened the central authority of the monarchy, and increased the power of the people in determining the nation’s destiny.

 

The story did not end there, however. Despite Elizabeth’s considerable achievement, dark forces continued to gather around her. For one, the Papacy in Rome was very displeased by her actions, and, at one point, actually sent an emissary to have her killed. Though the plot was foiled, Elizabeth’s problems continued, as members of her own cabinet now begun to plot against her. Elizabeth’s life was still in grave danger. In fact, she now appeared threatened from nearly every quarter.

 

With the circle of malice tightening around her, she knew that something had to be done. And so, the queen searched deep within herself to find a solution. Then drawing on an unknown inner strength, Elizabeth came to the one and only conclusion that made sense, considering the current dire circumstance. Making perhaps the most important decision of her life, she ordered her enemies arrested or killed.

 

Not unlike what Krishna demanded of Arjuna at the battle of Kurukshetra in the Indian epic the Mahabharata, Elizabeth did what had to be done -- what was right and just, despite its sometimes-brutal nature. As a result of her action, not only did she establish security around her, not only did she establish the solid underlying conditions that would allow her to reign for forty years, but she was afforded a lifetime of opportunities to express all of her innate talents. In the end, Elizabeth’s reign would come to be known as England’s “Golden Age.” In the short and long term, life had responded out of all proportion to a young woman’s overwhelming courage, determination, and exercise of strength in the face of the most dire of conditions.

 

In this light, we can examine our own lives and see where we lack strength and toughness; or where we feel helpless, powerless, and not in control; or where we are shrinking, cowering, and overly deferential; or where we are fearful and lacking in courage. If we then reverse that position, taking to the necessary level of psychological strength, life will respond out of all proportion, propelling us to the heights of success, while eliciting a deep happiness from within.

 

Taking Responsibility for Lack of Strength Relative to Society
Society does not teach character to its people. It is not part of the education system. It is done mainly by parents. Or one learns through the unfoldings and hardships of life. When the school system, the upbringing of children through schooling, the society's values, etc. start teaching the nature of and how to elevate character, then those who are psychologically weak will be able to become strong, and thus defend themselves from malevolent and mercenary influences. It also takes a multi-side knowledge of what is happening around us, so that we have the mindfulness to perceive the influences -- positive and negative -- around us.

The spiritual view of life is that we are responsible for all. That we cannot blame society or anyone. That if we want the world around us to change, we need to change first. Life will then respond in kind accordingly.

The active political view is the opposite. When the outer changes, we will be less exploited. (That view itself is a sign of inner weakness.) It is not an invalid way of looking at things and relating to life. It does work, but slowly through life's -- i.e. Nature's -- difficult method.

The universe is contained within. We can change all conditions outside ourselves from within. Also from that higher consciousness there is a concentration of energy that prevents anyone from exploiting us. In this way, we are the Masters of life, instead of being its helpless victims.

Any negative outside ourselves can be related to an inner wanting quality. Then if you change the inner quality, the outer instantly responds in kind -- for our benefit! Then we become life’s master, reversing the equation!



Strength that Overcomes the Negative
 (topic)
 

Achievement & the Negative
Individuals as well as society achieve only when the strength is Organised to contain the mischief of the negative. (MSS)

Lack of Strength and Tragedy

In Othello Desdemona, Othello's mate, does not have the emotional strength to break from Othello who desires her even though she does not feel the same way towards him. Her capitulation to Othello on this issue eventually leads to her own death. As a reader of the play we have a hard time believing that someone so good as Desdemona should end this way, but her tragedy was in one sense her own doing, caused by her weakness and lack of strength. (For a more detailed analysis of Othello in this light, please click here.)

Strength

Strength must accompany Divine Love. That is why Jesus died on the cross. He lacked the former, while he offered the world the latter.

Anger vs. Soft Strength
Preventing the expression of one's anger in one moment, and softly expressing a strength in another are distinctions of power worth cultivating.

 

The Character of Life vs the Character of the Divine
Life has a character of its own which simple-minded folk ignore. Meeting with misfortune, we exclaim, “I have not done any wrong, why the punishment?” To succeed in life, it is not enough one has not done any wrong. It is also necessary to be strong enough to handle the forces of life. Edmond Dantes had not wronged anyone. He was incapable of it. Still, he was jailed. When Dantes became a captain at 19 and won the love of the prettiest girl there, Life demanded he be strong to enjoy them. He did not have the capacity to suspect his friend and therefore could not defend himself against betrayal. This is the stamp of Life which I call character of life. You will be punished for no fault of yours if you are not resourceful, alert, awake and aware of all that might arise in the minds of your enemies. It is not enough to be GOOD. One must be fortified against life by strength as well as cunning. Dantes is a fine example of this.

What life has not, God has - benevolence. Life could not reward Dantes for his goodness, but when he was about to die, God gave him Faria, the priest, and through him knowledge, wealth and prosperity. God in him gave all this, not Life. (MSS)

 

Strength and Goodness Together
 (topic)

Goodness Matched by Strength

Goodness should be matched with (psychological) strength; as strength should be matched with goodness. One or the other is not enough for great positive effectivity. There are many good people who lack strength, as there are many strong people who lack goodness. Jesus' goodness was not matched by strength, or perhaps we can say power from adversity, so he was crucified. 

Strength and Goodness In Life

Often people with compassion lack a certain degree of inner strength. Often people of strength lack compassion. In the future more individuals will have both of these capacities, enabling more accomplishment and joy for themselves and the world around them.

 

A good person trying to do good things for bad people is usually showing weakness. Bad people often have strength but are applying it in a wrong way. The good person needs to add strength to his goodness; the bad person needs to add goodness to his strength.

 

Goodness Requires Strength for Success in Life
We see that even selflessness, self-givingness, and unconditional love cannot stand up to meanness, cruelty, and brutality when inner strength and toughness is absent. We should not forget that even Jesus Christ himself, who represented ultimate Goodness and offered the world unconditional love, did not have the strength to overcome those who sought to destroy him.

 

Strength + Goodness = Great Accomplishment and Joy

Psychological strength is a prime attribute for success in life. If it can be matched with goodness, one has acquired a great formula for great accomplishment and joy.

Goodness with/without Strength & Achievement
Goodness without strength does not achieve. Goodness with strength never fails to achieve. (MSS)
 

Strength in Tandem with Other Attributes
 (topic)

Strength Works In Tandem with Other Attributes

To accomplish greatly strength needs to be tied to other fundamental qualities. For example, a sports team needs to meld strength with talent, even innovation. A business needs to meld strength with teamwork, concern for staff, commitment to the customer, organization, and other high values to succeed. A project team needs to meld strength of commitment and bond with skills, organization, motivation, direction, cooperation, coordination, integration, and other attributes and values. In other words strength alone doesn't accomplish, but it is a critical foundation of accomplishment. Without it, little can be accomplished. 

Strength and Humility

It is natural to use one’s strength. However when strength accumulates, it is difficult to be humble. Therefore it can lead to negative and positive outcomes, success and failure. If one learns to be humble one absorbs strength into equanimity or equality. Strength thus absorbed will not meet with the alternative of failure.

Strength, Love, Humility, Surrender
The weak man's obedience out of weakness is submission to the strong man. It is defeat. When increasing strength seeks to give up its strength in pursuit of totality through love, it becomes humility of simplicity. It is [spiritual] surrender. (MSS)

Strength + Positive Attitudes Needed
Strength AND positive attitudes together has great effect. Just one of the two isn’t enough to accomplish.

Taking to Higher Values in Light of Failure that Brings Strength
You may understand the reasons for your failure, but not have the strength to avoid them. Adhere to the principles of honesty, patience, fairness, and righteousness. You will notice that they endow you with the strength which you earlier lacked. Practice them until you fully acquire the knowledge and strength for unfailing success. You will discover that this is the same process you used subconsciously as a child to acquire the skill of walking, writing, speaking, etc. (MSS)

 

Truth and Strength
Truth gives us a strength. (MSS)
 

 

Harmful Strength
 (topic)

Harmful Strength
Strength can be oblivious, callous, harmful, ego-filled, ignorant, false, evil.

Negative Strength
After all the problems are fully solved, the person who was the source of all these problems so far now retains the capacity to be a problem. His own social position of being a man, a husband, one who has dominated all our life and one who in the society is dominating, remains psychologically strong. From that strength issues offence. Its usual weapon is bluff, falsehood, vanity, dissipation, and intractable behaviour. (MSS)

Crudeness of Physical Strength
Physical strength [alone] becomes crude culture. (MSS)

Dark Strength
A corrupt politician rises by his dark strength of mafia while an honest politician is readily supported by the abundant honest forces at his disposal. (MSS)
 

 

Levels of Strength
 (topic)

Physical to Vital Strength

  • The strength of the unconditioned body of the primitive man is enormous, a hundred-fold greater than ours, but it is only the raw physical energy in very great measure.
  • So also, the native strength of the vital and the mental is unlimited, or at least a hundred-fold greater than we now know of. We call it the fresh energy of the warrior or the thinker.
  • The vital persuades the body to suspend its own initiatives and accept its own (vital) wishes. By doing so, the body loses its great brute strength but is tamed into energetic action energized by the vital. (MSS)

Physical, Vital, Mental, Spiritual Strength
Physical strength is that of the body. Vital strength is that of the will. Mental strength is that of conviction. Spiritual strength is equality and detachment.
 

 

 

Strength & Leadership
 (topic)

 

Strength & Leadership
The one inescapable rule for leadership is strength that is authority. (MSS)

 

Leadership Power and Strength
Whether it is a person, or a party or a sector of production or a religious group that comes to power, they do so by strength that is authority. Maybe the strength is his own or is supplied to him by other groups. (MSS)

 

The Strength of the Divine
 (topic)

Strength of the Divine
-God disregarding his strength, following the weak man's attention is strength at its peak changing into God's compassionate love. Yoga calls it surrender.

-The moveless Brahman immersed in Ignorance desiring to remind itself of what it has forgotten and emerging out of Ignorance, disregards its strength. It becomes humble. Through humility it tries to restore the knowledge hidden in Ignorance. It seeks the tool of surrender. Thus, the knowledge hidden in Ignorance seeks the Brahman who is lost in Matter. Integral yoga fulfills itself through surrender. (MSS)

Supramental Force and Strength
The Supramental force is a whole in the sense that your strength is also the strength of the other. (MSS)
 

TO BE CATEGORIZED
 



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