Foundational Articles

Jerald R. Forster – Differentiating the I from the ME

Jerald R. Forster – A Rationale for Constructing a Strengths-Focused Self-Identity

Examples from an SfI Practitioner
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Hi, my name is Barb and I am a retired Transit worker (subways and buses), I live with my husband and within walking distance to my son and his family that includes two granddaughters here in Brooklyn, NY.

I enjoy working with fabric making quilts as well as various fabric renditions of digital art and granddaughter paintings. I am a loud supporter of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team, your sympathies are appreciated.

I’ve been involved in a meditation group for almost 20 years which is where I met Jennifer and learned of her work with Jerald on Articulating Strengths. I was intrigued with the work and joined the Strengths’ group that initially met monthly on Zoom to verbally describe one of our positive moments and articulate the strength associated with that event. I must admit at first I was a bit baffled at identifying the positive moment and would often times ask my husband and in his absence one of my granddaughters for an example. I suppose that I was consumed by all the negativity in the world every day that these little blips of bliss got lost or at the very least overlooked. Then the pandemic hit NY and the general negativity was magnified with fear, solitude and loss.

Yet through all of this, I found positive moments in everything from washing the dishes to resolving a problem to share with the group. I thought this was magical. During the dark days of the pandemic the Strengths group began to meet weekly and I began to record my positive moments in writing. The process of writing allows one to dig through the nuances generally
present in any moment to arrive at the beauty and joy that is underneath it all. From there I can more easily see the strength that emerges within me.

Another truly great benefit of writing is the ability to go back in time to read these moments much like one will read a diary. When preparing for this website I found that my readings from the past confirmed for me today that I will be good-to-go tomorrow.

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