There is a lot of talk these days about personal power. Given society’s emphasis on success and material gain, power is often considered to be the ability to get ahead, make money, achieve a goal, etc. Mostly our interpretation is business-based or success-based.
Today, I offer a broader interpretation: true power is based in the ability to know ourselves. There are two levels of this.
PERSONAL POWER is knowing I have the right to…
- Think what I think
- Feel what I feel
- Want what I want
- Need what I need
- Be who I am
First, you have to be aware. Then you have to act on that. However, many of us have been told for so long what to think/feel/want/need that we don’t really know those truths for ourselves. This is why the path of self-discovery is so important.
Personal power is not about being able to control other people, events or situations. It is not getting your way by forcing, bullying, dominating, or manipulating. True power is respectful, kind, compassionate, and generous with self and others.
“If you have power within yourself you have no need for power over anyone else.”
–Bobby Drinnon
“When you have power within yourself you will not be overpowered by others.”
–Patty Farinola
Personal power is a confidence that comes from knowing and honoring your personal self. For example, knowing what you need and asking for it; making a request and having the courage to honor the other person if they say no. Power understands that being turned down has nothing to do with lovableness or worth. Without it, we take rejection personally.
Personal power is about being comfortable with yourself. This allows you to be comfortable with others, even when they are different. There is an ability to accept and respect others, even if they have different tastes, values, behaviors, and beliefs, and even if they make choices you don’t agree with.
It is the ability to learn from your mistakes rather than beating yourself up for them. It is an honoring of Self, free from the need for perfectionism.
SOUL POWER is a higher octave of Personal Power. Soul Power goes beyond knowing what we want and need. It is an unshakable faith in Self and Spirit that gives us the ability to be INVINCIBLE in any given situation.
When in Soul Power, what others think, do and say does not impact us as it does when we are in a vulnerable, insecure, or codependent state. Lack of power makes us need everyone to like/approve of us, or it denies that it cares.
A quote from Codependents Anonymous says it all: “What other people think about me is none of my business.” Meaning, you know you cannot control others’ perceptions, so you don’t waste time and energy trying to do so. Meaning, you do your best to BE your best, and what others think is what others think.
Soul Power means we intuitively know what is right for any given situation – for ourselves and others. It means living ethically and graciously. All. The. Time.
Imagine what the world would be like if everyone discovered their powers. A much different place!
“No one is free who has not obtained the Empire of himself.”
– Pythagoras