STYLE Strengths

As someone who teaches psychology, I've long been interested in finding a link between Organizing by STYLE and empirical evidence -- something research-based that serves as some sort of proof of the validity of this approach. I know it works, and I've had others tell me it works for them, but finding something more solid than that had consistently eluded me.

Until I started researching and teaching positive psychology. This semester, as I was discussing strengths assessments with my students, the connection suddenly became crystal clear.

When we use our personal and organizational styles as the foundation for our organizational systems, we are engaging in a strengths-based approach. Instead of trying to take on someone else's systems -- the ones that work for their strengths -- we're building on our own.

In addition, strengths-based approaches advise us to make our strong suits even stronger. This may go against conventional wisdom, which often tells us to shore up our weaknesses, but there is definitely a certain logic to it. If we're already good at something, why live on a plateau? Why not work to take the things we're good at to the next level?

Organizing by STYLE does just that. Step by step, letter by letter, organizing by STYLE helps us to build a workable system on the foundation of things we're already good at, even if those things are dropping and running, cramming and jamming and needing to see things.

Hey, if it's not broken, why fix it?