Physical Strength, Personal Strength - Some of Us Want a Better Life

I was at the grocery store recently when I decided to snap out of it and notice the people around me. After a few minutes I realized that most of the people there looked overweight.

But I already knew that. I've read the reports that say over two-thirds of Americans are overweight. We have an obesity problem in San Antonio, Texas, which is near where I live.

I work out at Planet Fitness six times a week. On occasion I snap out of it and notice the people around me. They are all working hard to become more fit and healthy. I honor them for that. Sometimes I count the number of men and women. Usually there are slightly more women than men on the machines.

There are lots of empty machines. I never have to wait. That's because I've never counted more than 100 people in the gym at any time. This means that only a tiny fraction of the people who need to work on becoming stronger and healthier physically are actually making the effort.

And so it goes.

My business is personal development. I know that practically everyone on the planet needs better interpersonal communication skills. Personal and work relationships are wounded because of this shortcoming, but not many people are trying to improve in this area. I find this amazing, and I think a lot about what could be done to change this situation.

In the world there are many exemplary human beings, but most of us are a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. Most of us need to become stronger as individuals in some way. A secret - doing things well requires know-how and motivation, but you won't achieve your personal or professional goals if you're not good with people and if you're not strong enough to work through adversity. People need to connect better and grow stronger as individuals - more courage, more patience, more compassion, more focus, more composure...the list of personal strengths includes over three dozen vital behavior patterns.

But not many people are consciously working on these core strengths.

Like the good-hearted people around me every morning at the gym, I know that some of us want to be stronger as individuals to live a better life. Like the folks on the treadmills and stationary bikes, they're in the minority. But they're trying. They care about who they are. They want better relationships. They want to be more successful.

My passion is to find ways to make it easier for people to make this happen.

Post by Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D., Copyright 2012. Building Personal Strength . (Permission to use photo purchased from fotolia.com)