I recently went through training with a local social service organization I work for that brought my attention to what I would call The Coping/Growth Continuum. The person doing the training mentioned the concepts of adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. As I got to thinking about these concepts, I came to the conclusion that the concepts of adaptive and maladaptive are only two points on a continuum of responses.
The Continuum Explained From the top going down, we begin with what I believe to be the highest and most beneficial levels of growth and ending up with the most damaging behaviors. Here's the breakdown: Spirituality- These responses give us the deepest levels of growth in every area of our lives. Adaptive and Healthy- These responses allow us to live a relatively healthy and prosperous life as
we seek to adjust to situations in our lives and grow in the process. Compensatory or Substitutional- People seek to get their needs met the best way they know how to. These type of responses may not always be the most ideal, but are many times done for lack of options, out of ignorance, or other reasons. These type of solutions are someone's way of meeting their own needs, that have minimal to no effect on those around them. Maladaptive- These kinds of behaviors do not allow us to adjust or adapt to the specific situations or the environment in general. They can be disruptive to those around us. Toxic- These responses are damaging to the overall health of those around us as well as ourselves. Terminal- A person with what I would call "terminal" behavior is a danger to others around them. These people could be anyone from known criminals to sexual predators. The Goal
The long-term goal would be to "climb the ladder." There would need to be intermediate goals in between rungs in order to move up the ladder to being a more healthy, adaptive, and spiritual person. Obstacles There are many obstacles to our own personal growth and development. Some examples could
be lack of a plan, ignorance, laziness, getting hung up in the past, etc. A good coach or mentor can help us discover some of these things and work through them. My Personal Situation I discovered a desire to create the life I dream of living so I came up with the solution of building my own businesses as a significant part of my oveall plan. This was my way of adapting to various needs in my life and also helping others meet their personal goals. If you are interested in healthy and beneficial solutions to building the life of your dreams and helping others, check out these links: https://theinspiredandinformedlife.com/start/home
http://SteveKMartin.arbonne.com/
Summation Our behaviors and responses as people fall on a continuum with the highest and most beneficial response being a spiritual response and the lowest and most damaging responses being what I term as "terminal." The long-term goal is to "climb the ladder" for most beneficial, growthoriented responses. In order to do this , personal obstacles must be identified, addressed, worked with and dealt with. Your Application Where do your responses and behavior fall on the coping/growth continuum and what is your plan to "climb the ladder?"