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Each situation that is objectively bad has elements that are objectively good. Similarly, every characteristic or personality trait that we have can also be a blend of challenge and gift. When we get in our own way and sabotage ourselves it can seem like a curse, but there are still ways that we can leverage the very same behaviors to generate success. This process underpins mental fitness and the ability to shift from saboteur to sage strength.

Mental fitness has many parallels with physical fitness. With both, you improve outcomes through intake and action. For physical fitness, the focus is on lifestyle changes to accommodate your body with diet and exercise. With mental fitness, the focus is on lifestyle changes around what you accommodate in your stream of consciousness. Your stream of consciousness includes what is happening right now through the experiences in which you place yourself as well as what you have learned in the past.

Once we have more awareness and understanding as to how our thoughts and emotions influence our behavior we can “read the landscape” and choose whether to adopt these patterns.

The nine saboteurs are the avoider, the controller, the pleaser, the hyperachiever, the hypervigilant, the hyperrational, the restless, the stickler, and the victim, Each one is fear based and has particular defining thought patterns and related points of focus. 

Avoider

The mindset associated with the avoider is not to upset their personal peace. This saboteur wants to avoid conflict and is extremely sensitive to indicators of tension.

Controller

The controller saboteur is driven to maintain an illusion of control and being in charge. Ultimately, this protects against having to do things against their will.

The basic idea is that you need three elements for Mental Fitness:
(1) The ability to intercept your saboteurs
(2) Activation of your sage, and
(3) Stronger self-command

Intercepting your saboteurs

The nine saboteurs are avoider, controller, pleaser, hyperachiever, hypervigilant, hyperrational, restless, stickler, and victim. Our dominant saboteurs act like a program that is implemented by your judge. These fear-based responses, often learned in childhood, provide a sense of safety and control. They provide a distinct motivation that influences the way you think, feel, and behave. Each one limits our functionality in specific ways.

Shirzad Chamine introduces the concept of sage and its five powers in his book “Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours.”

The overarching sage viewpoint is that every outcome or circumstance can be turned into a gift or opportunity. This involves looking at how every experience can help you grow and be a source of inspiration.

The sage outlook is about how every experience that you have has a miracle embedded in it. This allows you to work with and through any pain and transmute it to positive outcomes. There are five sage powers or perspectives that can become your focus. They are Empathize, Explore, Innovate, Navigate, and Activate.