by Justin Standfield
I first discovered the work of Virginia Satir over 15 years ago as part of my NLP Practitioner training at that time. She is considered to be a pioneer in the therapy world who created some amazing concepts that continue to help individuals, families and couples to this day. Satir looked at the importance of the experience of life and how to make it a positive one.
I’m not a therapist, so my application of Satir’s work has always been within corporate settings, e.g. working 1:1 with someone in a coaching session, adding a deeper perspective to leadership development. There are four main goals in what’s known as the Satir Method: to raise confidence, to become an active decision-maker, to become responsible and to become congruent. Combined together, these goals can ultimately lead to powerful change in an individual.
The 5 Freedoms (you can download a copy here) are affirmations that I believe can help us to connect with our lives and navigate through everything that these uncertain times is throwing in our direction; they align well with the work we’re doing here at Incendo on developing mindfulness in organisations and enabling leaders to lead more consciously.
I hope that you can take a step back in your busy life this week to think about The 5 Freedoms and notice the permissions you can give yourself alongside each of them.
The 5 Freedoms by Virginia Satir
1. To see and hear
what is here,
instead of what should be,
was, or will be.
2. To say
what one feels and thinks
instead of what one should.
3. To feel
what one feels,
instead of what one ought.
4. To ask
for what one wants,
instead of always waiting
for permission.
5. To take risks
on one’s own behalf,
instead of choosing to be
only ‘secure’
and not rocking the boat.
Download The 5 Freedoms
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