Turn On Your Personal Power

Why does power have such a bad rep, especially for women? Some people think it means controlling others, others believe it leads to corruption, still others shy away from the attention that comes when it’s used.

I like to focus on the positives of power:
• It can get you from one place to another
• It makes things glow
• It allows you to step out and claim what’s rightfully yours
And, the successful embracing of your own personal power can lead to all three of these.

Many women have had to search for their own personal power. After years of cultural, familial, or societal conditioning, their personal power ends up buried somewhere—under some internal rock, inside someone else’s expectations, or in an alter ego who may or may not be hidden.

Personally, I consider myself lucky. I’ve always known I am powerful. My challenge has been to use it wisely. To keep it bottled up and not let it come shooting out of the ends of my fingers (or, more likely, from my barbed tongue) at the drop of a hat. “Pick your battles,” is some of the best advice I’ve ever received.

When I used my power indiscriminately, I alienated people, limited my self, and generally made my life more difficult. I focused my power on tearing things or other people down, rather than on creating things and building people up. What’s the difference now? In short, stuff happens.

I have more and better ideas, because there’s enough space in my brain for them to come in. It’s no longer chock full of plans to win all those unimportant battles (like how I’m going to get my daughter, Elisabeth, to clean up her room or how I’m going to look better than my co-worker).

I attract really interesting people into my life. By stepping out and using my personal power to create instead of tear down, I’m meeting people with similar goals, and we’re working on ways to help each other change the world. I do more than I ever thought I could.

Are you feeling the twinges of your own current of personal power yet? Wondering how to get started wiring (or re-wiring) your self to step out and lead your self to greatness? How about creating your Personal Power Manifesto?

A manifesto, you say? Isn’t that too radical? A manifesto is merely “a public written declaration of principles, policies, and objectives” (as defined by the Encarta dictionary). It’s just a list of what you believe, how you’ll behave, and what you’ll achieve. Is it the “public” part that’s scaring you? Well, you can start with just writing it and printing it out. Get it out of your head and onto paper. Keep it somewhere where you can see it regularly. As you get more comfortable with it, share it with others.

The great benefit of a manifesto is the clarity it brings. By writing it down, you more clearly define what you want and how you want to get it. And the increased clarity makes it easier to find, achieve, and/or attract what you want. Once you’ve done it, then share it. Add it as a comment to this post, put it on your web site or Facebook page, tweet about it.

And if you’re still balking at the concept of finding and using your personal power, I give you this quote from Elisabeth Kübler Ross:

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.

You have to have power to turn on your light.