Author: Debra Russell

In the North Korean POW camps there were fewer cases of physical abuse than in prison camps from any other major military conflict throughout history. Why then was the death rate 38% – the highest POW death rate in U.S. military history? The full story is absolutely fascinating but the bottom-line is that the soldiers experienced extreme hopelessness.

In my almost 30 years of coaching, I have found that people commonly use two of the primary psychological warfare tactics used to “torture” soldiers:

1)   Self-criticism

2)   Withholding positive emotional support

Self-criticism:

Regular “therapy” sessions were held with groups of 10-12 soldiers. The entire focus was to confess all the bad things he had done, as well as, all the good things he could have or should have done but didn’t.  How much time do you focus on what you haven’t done well, should have done better, etc.? That’s right, every time a person does this they are tearing themselves down bit by bit – it was a weapon used in psychological warfare!

Withholding positive emotional support:

Some believe the most damaging tactic was withholding emotional support. The captors withheld any and all letters from home that contained love and support. They of course, let through any that told of loved ones passing away, wives leaving husbands, etc. They even delivered overdue bills from collection agencies. How often have you “deleted” examples of love and support or withheld love and support of yourself while letting through any and everything that feels bad?

Thank goodness there is a flip side! Any time you catch yourself in self-criticism, STOP and look for something to acknowledge in yourself. Practice giving yourself a pat on the back on a regular basis – building yourself up each and every day. You really can build the muscle to increase your focus and attention on the good things in yourself and your life.

So Give YOURSELF a Pat on the Back each and every day. It truly is a secret for creating greater motivation, confidence and success.

Spread the word,

Debra

 

Are you beating yourself up thinking it will make you do more, be better? News flash – it doesn’t work!!!

One of the saddest things I experience in my coaching practice is seeing amazing, wonderful, fabulous people who feel they aren’t good enough. People who are constantly striving but no matter how much external success they attain, never feel like it’s enough. Sometimes, this is simply a misplaced idea that the “beatings” are necessary to keep them motivated. I would suggest that they are motivated by some other deep desire IN SPITE of the useless and damaging habit of self-abuse. For others they have been beating themselves up for so long it has become a habitual pattern.

I won’t deny that a well-place kick in the butt is sometimes the perfect answer but always keep in mind the 5:1 ratio of positive to negative. However, constant negative critique is truly damaging to your spirit, your motivation, your confidence, to your success and to your enjoyment of life.

If you’ve been a self-beater, please print out and sign your resignation letter below from that ridiculous club NOW.

____________________

To: The Chairman of the Self Beaters Club

Re: Notice of resignation

Date: (fill in date)

I (fill in your name), hereby give my notice to the Self Beaters Club to take immediate effect.

I understand that by giving my notice, I will never, ever be allowed to renew my membership for the rest of my life.

If anyone ever notices me beating myself up again, they have my permission to laugh uncontrollably for at least one minute and remind me that I am no longer a member of that ridiculous club.

Sign (in ernest) __________________________________

Spread the word, Debra

As with many, if not most, of the examples I’ll be giving you, this one is focused on the power of positive reinforcement of others. So I will continue to stress the importance of using the same principles on YOURSELF…

For years, a detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Richmond, Canada used the strategies of most other law enforcement bureaucracies – with similar results. Their reoffending rates ran at around 60% with spiraling rates of youth crime. A forward-thinking new superintendent, Ward Clapham, did something amazing when he challenged the core assumptions of the system itself. He asked: “Could we design a system that encouraged people to not commit crime in the first place?”

They decided to test an approach that was to try to catch youth doing the right things and give them a Positive Ticket. The ticket rewarded the kids with various things from free entry to the movies or to a local youth center and more. The officers starting giving out an average of 40,000 tickets positive tickets per year – three times the number of negative tickets over the same period. According to research, the Losada Line states that 2.9% is the minimum ratio of positive to negatives that has to exist for a team to flourish. On higher-performing teams (and marriages for that matter) the ratio jumps to 5:1. But did that hold true in policing?

According to Clapham, youth re-offensives were reduced from 60% to 8%. Overall crime was reduced by 40%. Youth crime was cut in half. And it cost one-tenth of the traditional judicial system – incredible!

So what about YOU? Do you want to be a high performer? Can you afford to wait for external positive reinforcement? Let whatever comes from the outside be gravy and make sure you are giving YOURSELF a 5:1 ratio of positive to negative reinforcement.

Spread the word!  ~Debra