What’s Your State of Mind?
I am pretty sure you have one or all of these as your top answers: team player, flexible, emphatic, competitive, effective communicator and patient.
But, would you believe me that there is one specific quality people, whether your customers or employer, would really want to from you that you possess? And that is being a resourceful person.
Resourcefulness: In theory and in reality
Do a quick Google search on the meaning of the word “resourceful” and you will learn that it is “having the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties.” Sounds impressive, right? Even more impressive is that it is also synonymous with being inventive, creative and ingenious. But let us move beyond this dictionary definition.
I stumbled upon these two answers that truly embodies what a resourceful person is in a more realistic sense.
“A resourceful person isn't someone who knows all the answers, someone who knows how to or who to get the answers from.”
“A resourceful person will not sit and worry about their dilemma. They will use their mind and take action. They would do something, think about the situation and take care of any problems as they occur.”
If you analyze it deeper, being resourceful simply means being capable of dealing with difficult situations. In short of it all, it means that you have the ability to come out as a winner no matter what the situation is. So clearly, resourcefulness is not just limited to your work life, it applies and works at your advantage in every of your life.
Switching off un-resourceful state
As powerful as this strength is, the truth of the matter is that there will certain occasions when your innate resourcefulness takes a dip into the pits of an un-resourceful state. And sometimes, it comes at a time when you need it the most. Such a bummer, right?
But as with any state of mind, invoking or tapping into a resourceful state can be done like a flick of a switch. It is all about picking the right emotions, sensations, thoughts or imagery that will straighten out the crooked line pointing back towards to a desirable state of being.
Resources vs. resourcefulness
In NLP, you are taught that “We all have the resource we need to succeed”. You possess them. But essentially to achieve desirable results, you do not just rely on what resources you have. You need to access them and use them to your advantage. This puts truth to what Tony Robbins is saying that, “It’s not resources but resourcefulness that ultimately makes the difference.”
It is important to take note that another NLP presupposition states that there is “No unresourceful people, just unresourceful states.” However, I would like to be quick to point out that these unresourceful moments can be changed to motivate and energize to reach a state that influences performance in a more positive light. In an article that I read a year ago, it pointed out that resourceful people bend the rules. This is in a sense that they “cultivate an attitude that says you're out to accomplish things, not just go along with how things have always been done.”
In certain situations, how you usually do things may no longer work eventually. This means that you need to look for other ways to achieve that resourceful state. Essentially because, as what the article also emphasized, resourceful people adapt and apply other experiences.
Your past experiences
One unique characteristic about being resourceful is that your solutions to life’s difficulties will not be patterned after a standard cookie cutter. Your resourcefulness will be distinct from the rest, which will provide you with choices that are based on your own experiences. This is where the very popular (and the most commonly used and easiest to use NLP technique in my opinion) Anchoring technique comes into great play.
This NLP technique allows you to tap into past personal experiences, ones that elicited your resourceful state, and “anchor” it with a gesture, thought or visual imagery to access and make use of that exact state of mind and apply it to your current situation.
Better questions is key
Another way of invoking a resourceful state is to ask yourself better questions. By constantly asking yourself, your thought process will instinctively find solutions. A quick tip though: ask positive questions instead of negative ones. Rather than asking why you are doing things wrong, ask yourself what ability you have that can make things happen.
One funny example of resourcefulness I learned from a good friend – put creativity into being resourceful. As she was riding on a bus on her way home, the rain began pouring heavy. She realized that she had no umbrella with her. Instead of flustering how to get from the bus station to her flat, she asked herself what she has in her handbag that she can use to protect her head from getting wet in the rain. She found a plastic bag poked three holes like a face mask. When she alighted from the bus, she put on the plastic bag over her head sparing her head from the rain, with the ability to see clearly and breathe properly because of the holes she made. Now that is creative and ingenious resourcefulness working at its best!
Achieving a resourceful state is indeed a powerful state of mind. Not only will get things done, you spark other strengths that will propel you towards winning and success.
If you want to learn more how to ignite your resourceful state, join me in one of my FREE NLP Fast-Track Course to learn the many NLP techniques that can harness this formidable strength.
And if you want to be a champion in your career life and be known for your resourcefulness, my NLP Sales Training and Workshop is the one for you. Simply fill-out our inquiry form to book the seat reserved just for you.