The Astounding Asset-Based Approach

Hello friends!

kristopher here. I hope this blog finds you all well!

This week, I’ve been thinking about how much I love the asset-based approach and how transformative the asset-based mindset really is.

In one of my school classes this week, my professor referenced an absolutely fascinating study that was conducted in 2008. You can read the full story here, but essentially, a bunch of people who had jobs cleaning hotels were surveyed on their daily exercise. Even though their daily work activities were clearly quite strenuous, most of the people surveyed did not see themselves as physically active and 67% reported that they didn’t exercise. Each of these surveyed people were then given baseline tests for various health indicators such as blood pressure, weight, etc. Next, the researchers split the participants into two groups and had them return to their normal work activities. As one of the groups worked, the researchers explained to them how many calories they were burning in the midst of each of their work tasks and also how their daily work already met the surgeon general’s definition of a healthy lifestyle. In contrast, the other group received no information from the researchers. The researchers then left, and the participants carried on with their jobs, as usual, for the next month. But, a month later, the researchers came back and re-tested each of the participants for the same health indicators, and the results were incredibly surprising…the health indicators for the group that was simply told about their daily work exercise were significantly better, including a 10% drop in their blood pressure! (Source: NPR - https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17792517)

Isn’t this astounding?! Now, the question I’m wondering is…How much of these positive measurements were a result of the asset-based approach?

How much of the power of this study is from the fact that these workers started being mindful of the assets already all around them, already present in the midst of their daily routines?

I’m wondering how this study might relate to the work of asset-based community development. We at The Neighboring Movement know the asset-based approach rings true in the deepest parts of us - it sees the inherent goodness around us, upholds the dignity of the people we get to work with, and aligns with how we think about people and the world around us - and we also know it just feels better! But could it physically, biologically be transformative for our bodies, as well? I don’t know, but I know it’s been life-giving and energizing for me and the rest of our staff.

So, what do we do with this? I would propose that we practice the asset-based approach, that we actively seek to discover the good, the gifts, the beauty, in that which is all around us and train our minds to continually see the world in this way. This asset-based approach has been astoundingly transformative for me, and maybe it was for those workers in the study?

Perhaps it could be for you, too.

Peace to you all, kristopher