This last full moon coupled with the tail end of my birthday week threw me for a bit of a loop. Did it affect you, too?
My mind has been going in circles around “negative traits.” Growing up with a strong personality, many of my characteristics got labeled as bad. I spent years and years trying to transform them, until I realized it was totally the wrong way to think about them.
When I turned to the plants for help, all I heard was a snicker. “Human problems,” Kin said. “There is no such thing as negative traits. All traits are necessary when used correctly.”
Kin proceeded to share with me plant models to help make the point:
Caffeine is a plant-based product with well-known pleasurable effects on the body until taken in excess, revealing their essentially poisonous nature.
The seeds, leaves, and bark of the Yew tree, Taxus, are highly poisonous to humans. However, the bark of Taxus brevifolia, the Pacific yew, contains a toxic ingredient that can be harnessed on a cellular level to inhibit the progress of some cancers.
Warfarin, the blood-thinning medicine originally derived from Sweet Clover, was initially used as a rat poison.
See… used incorrectly, all of these traits become deadly.
Used correctly, they heal our bodies.
With the help of the plants, I went back to look at my own traits. One by one, I asked each one, “How can you be of use to me?”
And with patience and a BIG mind-shift, I discovered THREE KEYS to using your traits effectively:
1. WHEN. Not all traits are appropriate at all times. For example, “determination” used at the wrong time becomes “stubbornness”. So think carefully before you use a given trait.
2. HOW. Your trait can probably be used many different ways, choose the one that best fits the need. For example, seeing all sides of the situation is great in the early phases of a project, but once you have chosen a path, constantly bringing up alternatives can become distracting.
3. HOW MUCH. Your trait can be used a little or a lot, and that amount completely changes its effectiveness. Have you ever noticed how the right dosage of knowledge can be illuminating, but if you continue to pile on the data, it becomes overwhelming?
So the next time you start to doubt yourself and think you have “negative traits”, ask yourself what do you need to learn to better use that trait. If you need help, I am here!
What’s one outdated belief about yourself that you want to learn how to use effectively? Leave a comment and let me know or share it in the Naturally Conscious Community.. I am sure that together you can learn how, when, and how much to use.
Green Brilliance,
