I've regretted every single personal and business decision that I have ever made from a place of desperation, stress, overwhelm and fear.
I’m staring at a hot mess of piled up business related folders and papers that are screaming for my attention on a Saturday afternoon, but they overwhelm me, and it’s Saturday, So, I ignore the pile and turn up the volume to the television and shift my focus to Food Network’s Chopped Challenge instead.
The problem is that the more I put that hot mess off, the louder the nagging gets, like a screeching monkey on my back that will not go away until I deal with it.
I recall an H&R Block television commercial that says, “Get your money back, America!” Every time I heard that commercial I mimicked, “Take your power back, America!” In this particular moment, however, what I hear in my head is, “Take your power back, LeNae!”
Procrastination and turning a blind eye is serving no one here; it is not what someone who loves herself does, and I know it. So, I turn down the television volume, roll my sleeves up, and one by one I sift through each and every folder and paper.
Eventually, the last paper is reviewed. I have a clearer picture of the “looming disaster,” and am in a better position to put a strategy together going forward. I have information, I reclaimed my power in the process, and the screeching monkey is placated.
“Come from a space of peace and you’ll find you can deal with anything.” – Michael Singer
Even I am guilty of allowing the tumultuous ebb and flow of the tides of life to give and take my personal power to me and from me every once in a while. And every single time I do, misery and chaos ensues.
Many of us hand over our power multiple times a day, every day. For example, we hand over our power to employers, co-workers, clients, teachers, parents, spouses, and our partners.
We also hand over our power to anyone we allow to make our decisions for us, to anyone we allow to make us feel less than treasured, less than intelligent, less than beautiful, less than whole, and any event or circumstance that we allow to compromise our joy.
Being self-empowered does not mean being a control freak, resistant, unyielding and unable to receive assistance or advice. Nor does it mean lording power and authority over others. Being self-empowered means being open, aware and making conscious confident, even courageous choices reflective of self-love and self-respect.
Self-love is not selfish, it is soul-love.
The best way to reclaim your personal power is to ask yourself, when you are faced with a decision, “What would someone who loves herself/himself do?”
For example, if you are offered a new career position and you do not know if you should accept the offer or not, ask yourself, “What would someone who loves himself do?” If you are in a relationship and you do not know if it is time to move on or work it out, ask yourself, “What would someone who loves herself do?”
If you are a business owner faced with a business related decision, the same question applies, “What would a business owner who loves herself do?”
Play around with this process by asking yourself this question with any decision you have to make, big or small. You will begin to feel more empowered as you begin treat yourself like someone who loves herself/himself. Go ahead, show yourself some self-love and take your power back, America!
