We’re finally here: ready to explore the final Sage Power. If you’ve travelled with me on this journey to learn more about the Judge and the 9 Accomplish Saboteurs, and then more recently the Sage Perspective and the Sage Powers, fantastic! I acknowledge, appreciate, and celebrate your curiosity and openness to learn more in order to strengthen your mental fitness. If you want to catch up on any of these topics before reading about today’s final Sage Power, I invite you to explore past blog posts here.

WHEN TO USE THE ACTIVATE POWER?*

As the Activate power is the final of the five powers (Empathy, Explore, Innovate, Navigate, then Activate), you will experience the greatest benefit in using it after you FIRST shift to Empathy for self and others, SECOND creatively examine what are the factors at play in the situation you perceive to be a challenge (using the Explore power), THIRD expand your options to address the challenge (using the Innovate power), and FOURTH use the Navigate power to determine the best path forward.

WHY USE THE ACTIVATE POWER?*

To ensure a smooth and successful path forward! By bringing online the Sage parts of the brain that correspond to creativity, empathy, and laser-focused clarity, you will move forward without the type of disruption you may have experienced in the past with saboteur interference. By using the Activate power, when you encounter new hurdles, small or big, you’ll be able to more quickly shift to positive Sage emotion and continue to dynamically utilize whichever of the Sage powers best serves the purpose in each moment.

Over time, as you practice shifting to Sage and utilizing these powers more and more, you will strengthen the neural pathways in the brain that light up and connect to your Sage brain.

When I recently re-took the Saboteur and PQ Score assessments I saw concrete evidence of the significant shift of experience I have had over the past year…. weaker Saboteurs, stronger Sage… which translates to sustained happiness, higher levels of performance, and more positive relationships. This work is worth it!

HOW TO USE THE ACTIVATE POWER?*

In the Positive Intelligence mental fitness model, its creator Shirzad Chamine shares a recommended Activate “power game” called “Pre-empt the Saboteurs.” In addition, I have found it deeply beneficial to explore the thoughts that arise with each saboteur using a sequence of question prompts. Below I share details on how to utilize both of these practices as part of employing this final Sage power. Read on to learn more, and be in touch with any clarification questions.

HOW TO PRE-EMPT DAMAGING SABOTEUR BEHAVIOR:

Step 1: Ask yourself: “Now that I am clear on what action is most fitting to address my challenge, which of my saboteurs are most likely to show up and try to get in my way?”

Step 2: Make a list of the saboteurs.

Step 3: For each saboteur, state out loud or write down specifics about how that saboteur will try to derail you or disrupt your success. Include:

• Words it might speak to you quietly (or loudly) in your own mind
• What it might do to interfere with your interactions with other people
• How it might try to trip you up through misdirection or overcomplication or other means.

The more detailed you can document, the more likely you will quickly and successfully identify the saboteur behavior in the moment.

Step 4: For each saboteur thought or action, then clarify what you will say in response, or what you can do instead to stop the saboteur in its tracks. This might include doing PQ reps to shift to Sage, or calling a friend who is an accountability buddy, or reminding yourself of your intended goal, or a response statement you say in your mind to tell truth to your saboteur’s lie.

The key idea with this fourth step is to put in place a game plan for every likely saboteur action so your saboteurs are unsuccessful.

HOW TO EMPLOY ERIN’S ADDITIONAL TACTIC

If you notice a particularly tricky lie a saboteur tells you, or an area where you repeatedly get stuck, you can try an additional approach I use in coaching my clients. This tactic involves using a question prompt repeatedly until you have the clarity you need to move forward without saboteur interference.

I recommend you do this with a friend in dialogue OR you can do it on your own by writing it down like a script using the following template. To bring this to life, I’ll use the situation where your saboteur tells you that “you don’t have enough time”.

NOTE: When you use this tactic, start by substituting your own saboteur’s lie in place of “you don’t have enough time” and follow along with this format.

When you say “I don’t have enough time”, what does that mean?

[You write down whatever comes to mind, then restate it with the words “what does that mean?” after your words. For example…”]

“It means I’m not making this a priority.”

When you say “I’m not making this a priority,” what does that mean?

“That means that most likely my Avoider saboteur is afraid of dealing with this situation.”

When you say “my Avoider saboteur is afraid of dealing with this situation”, what does that mean?

“It means I need to pause, do some PQ reps, for as long as it takes for me to shift to Sage, then remind myself why this is so important to me.”

You repeat this format until you have an insight or realize what you need to do in order to move forward without saboteur interference. There may be times when this exchange repeats numerous times for many minutes and ultimately reveals a deep-seeded underlying belief that is at the heart of a particular saboteur’s lies and disruptive behavior.

I have found this approach to be more powerful when practiced either with another person or after you have done PQ reps to shift more deeply into Sage mode.

By using the “pre-empt the saboteur” power game and, if needed, the additional tactic illustrated above, you channel your Sage super powers to generate the best possible result.

Using the Activate power has become a habit for me, such that when I notice a saboteur response to an activity I previously did not like (such as answering my accountant’s questions), I immediately ask myself, “Okay, which saboteurs might show up and what am I going to do about it?” In this way, I very quickly and seamlessly am able to skip over the drama and foot dragging of my Avoider saboteur. The benefits? I get the work done in a fraction of the time, saving me mental and emotional exhaustion, as well as precious time. When you use your Activate power and try these approaches, please email me to let me know how this worked for you and what insights you gained.

Learn More

To read about the overall Positive Intelligence model and foundational mental fitness training program, I’ve included an overview of the model on my website. To read previous blog posts about the Sage Perspective and the 10 Saboteurs, start here.

*Source: Shirzad Chamine and his Positive Intelligence mental fitness model. Erin completed her certification with Shirzad and Positive Intelligence, Inc. in the spring of 2021 and is now a Certified Positive Intelligence mental fitness coach (CPQC).