Being Empowered is Like Winning the Lottery
Is it just me, or does it seem like every website you go to these days is about empowering someone? Empowering women, empowering men, empowering children. But what does the word empowerment really mean?
I’m going to give you my definition (it’s kind of like a recipe that has a little bit of this and a little bit of that).
Essentially, empowerment is like a Teflon shield that gives you total control over your own life.
If it were a recipe, it would be a scoop of self-love, a handful of self-respect, accountability, positivity, compassion, authenticity, and feeling valued.
Empowerment has two siblings: Will Power and Why Power.
Sadly, if you rely on Will Power you’re not going to see your goal to fruition because Will Power runs out! On the other hand, Why Power is the strongest player. So choose wisely. If you know your why, you’ll figure out your how. If you’re working toward a college degree so you can land the job of your dreams, that “Why Power” will carry you through those late nights studying, the stress of exams, and all the frat parties. More like, the late nights staring into your computer screen.
So, how can you tell when you’re empowered? Here are 4 simple signs that you’re on the right track…
You have absolute clarity about what you want.
You believe in yourself and know you’ll be able to “get there.”
You can see the steps you need to take in order to accomplish your goal.
You are 100% selfish with your power: you protect yourself, your vision, and your life.
This doesn’t mean that you don’t let people in, but you certainly won’t feel pressured to attend your Aunt Mary’s cousin’s neighbor’s brother-in-law’s birthday party.
So, that’s how you identify empowerment. But how do you get there?
You’ll Get There With Practice
You can’t just attend a webinar. You can’t just buy it off the shelf. You can’t just read a self-help book. These things may inspire you or motivate you, but they’re not going to last and will certainly not empower you. Empowerment is a daily practice. You must empower yourself.
Try these 6 steps toward empowerment:
1. Identify something in your life with which you’re dissatisfied. Make it something small to start. (we’re not going to create a Better Me overnight!).
2. Articulate the change you want to see.
3. Establish steps for change. You must actually believe in your ability to change.
4. Take action. Now that you’ve created the steps, this will be clear.
5. Create a strong support system. You are going to need people that propel you forward.
6. Succeed, because you’ve already laid out a foolproof plan. Celebrate the positive impact or change.
For example, let’s say your husband leaves the toilet seat up every night. When you get up at 3 am to use the restroom (because you drank the proper amount of water that day), you find yourself falling ass-first into the toilet bowl. No!
Identify the thing with which you are dissatisfied (the toilet seat being up). Articulate the change you want to see (the toilet seat being down). Establish steps for change and take action (tell your husband how it makes you feel when cold toilet water hits your butt at 3 am). Succeed and celebrate the positive impact (show your husband how much you love him with__________[insert your own way here]).
A Word of Caution
When you become empowered, you will no longer be willing to put up with any excuses in any area of your life. You will have zero tolerance for people displaying their victim or martyr cards.
You will be giddy with the excitement of life, overflowing with gratitude, and satisfied with your accomplishments. It’s possible they will accuse you of riding unicorns over rainbows, but that’s okay! I personally always enjoy my unicorn rides.
Learn to live in your truth and conquer your goals with a weekly visit from our live virtual trainers. Start your journey with Virtually Better Fitness today.