If you’ve been to a therapist, some will ask for an early memory, some for a typical day as a child (or as an adult), and some understanding of how we see life. It comes out in some form of the following beliefs:

  • Life is _____

  • People are ______

  • I am _________

  • Therefore, I must ________

These techniques are a way into the part of ourselves that is on autopilot… How we see life, others, self, the task ahead. Some of us have had terrific childhoods where we learned to enjoy life, to trust others, and to be self-confident as we enter the world of work, love, and friendship. Some of us had a tougher childhood where we learned early and often that life is not fair, that people, even family, are not so nice, and that we had to prepare for the worst of life coming at us with a distrust of others, and the must is about heading aggressively into life or shrinking from it. The therapist’s job is to listen and try with us to unearth these hidden convictions that might rest just below our awareness but nonetheless account for our beliefs and actions. The psychiatrist Rudolf Dreikurs (and later the program “Empowering People in the Workplace”) suggested that we have an imaginative magic wand in his therapy sessions. “Go back to that early recollection,” he might say, “and you now have a magic wand. What do you want to change about that early memory or typical day?”

What happens frequently is a different set of beliefs:

  • Life is _____

  • People are ______

  • I am _________

  • Therefore, I CAN ________

Some of us have a magic wand in our daily life that can transform us from our musts to our cans. A powerful wand indeed. Some of us are unaware of its power. 

(For more information: https://www.positivediscipline.org/Empowering-People-in-the-Workplace)

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