Personal power is your ability to be true to yourself and to express this truth. It is a life long journey, challenging and infinitely rewarding.
When you set out along this path you will need to take some necessities with you as with any lengthy journey. These necessities are:
- a belief in yourself
- an awareness of your values
- enough energy to take the trip
- a plan of action
Self belief comes to us from outside as children by the warm and caring way adults respond to us. If you were fortunate enough to have this experience then build on this by seeking out the people and events in life that continue to increase your belief in yourself as a worthwhile human being. If your experience of childhood was harsh or abusive, know that you still have the right to these feelings of worth but you may need help in letting go of beliefs of worthlessness before you can build on your strengths.
Your values guide you throughout your life so it is useful to be aware of what they are. Sometimes we acquire values to see us through difficult times eg as a child we might lie to an abusive parent to avoid being beaten. When these times pass it is important to review our values so they fit with the kind of person we want to be.
Guidelines for managing your energy have been given in my blog Assertiveness and Energy so please read this for more details. For now, imagine this. You are about to set out, your bags are packed, tickets booked and you find yourself either with hardly enough energy to get the bags in the car to drive to the airport or an overwhelming feeling that you’re not going to be able to keep up with all the activities planned for the trip. What do you do?
Before you even get to that point, be aware of your energy levels. You may need intervention at a physical level or it may be that your environment is exhausting you and needs to be changed. This environment is both the external world, such as demands by family, friends, your workplace, and your internal world – your beliefs, levels of confidence, ability to handle stress and your resilience.
Your plan of action
It has been said that goals tell you where you want to go and action plans get you there. Consider an action plan that you might make for your journey and the decisions that have to be made. You will need to work out where you want to go, how you’re going to get there, if you’ll need assistance or advice and what the cost will be. Your journey along the path to personal power is similiar. When you increase your personal power, how do you want your life to be? What resources will you need upon the way? What will it cost – perhaps the ending of some old relationships?
Spending some time reflecting on these questions will help you get underway.
