March is named after Mars, the God of War, although, actually you could argue, that he was a symbol of military power for peace. I thought this was a good opportunity to focus on strength and assertiveness for the month.
I find that people commonly have disorders of the boundaries, or their defences. When it’s hard to say “no” then it’s hard to have the self-care you need in order to respond to the desires or needs of others. Learning to say “no” appropriately requires assertiveness (not the same thing at all as selfishness or the pursuit of self-interest). When we find it hard to be assertive, our boundaries are weakened and we can either become overwhelmed, or our defences can go “hyper” to our disadvantage, driving everything from irritability with others, to auto-immune reactions. It’s really not uncommon to find this is an issue in a patient with an autoimmune disorder.
By strength, in addition to assertiveness, I also mean the ability to stick at things, to be both consistent and persistent. It’s not so much a matter of trying to have power over others, or trying to control life, but more a matter of resilience, resolve and stamina.
So, why not take the opportunity to reflect on that this month? How do you feel about your own personal strength? Not your power over others, but your autonomy, your resolve, and your staying power……
Heroes Not Zombies 
Thanks for this post , personally relevant and appropriate too….I agree with you but its probably important to know when your efforts , purpose and energy are directed in an appropriate direction.
Persisting in the ‘wrong’ direction may lead to frustration. If ones approach and philosophy is incongruent with the dominant hierarchy or ethos than persisting or trying to fit in might be difficult ?
The current ethos in the NHS for example is measurement , depersonalisation and the search for ‘objectivity’. Enormous effort, research and behaviour persists with this search for objectivity. In some areas improvements are made but persisiting with this model does not seem to address a great deal more than the easily isolated problems of life and health?
Perhaps it takes strength and commitment to stay out of the fray and seek explanations elsewhere ……This is why I come along here!
I’ve been working my way through a mindfulness practice these last few weeks. This week is “health,” but I’ll make “strength and assertiveness” my theme for next week!
Great post. Thank you…
[…] 6, 2011 by Mrs. Chili This week’s theme is inspired by this post over at Heroes not Zombies. Doc poses the question of how these things – strength and […]
[…] my 12 monthly themes, March is the month of strength and assertiveness. It’s interesting that March comes immediately after February, which is the month of Love. […]