Last update: February 15, 2020
Have you ever felt “small” and powerless in the face of adversity that arose at a certain moment in your life? We find ourselves thinking that we are useless and useless. We are convinced that things will go wrong and that nothing can be done to avoid it.
What does all this imply? That we will not make any effort to get out of the situation, because that would not help anyway. You enter a vicious circle from which it is difficult to get out and which increases the malaise ... Is there anything we can do? Yup! Read on to find out the benefits of personal empowerment!
"The question is not who will let me do it, it's who will stop me"
-Ayn Rand-
What is personal empowerment?
As we enter the spiral of learned helplessness, our personal situation continues to worsen. Feeling that we don't have the strength to change things undermines our physical and mental health. It is clear that it can be very difficult to cope with life's adversities. Difficult, but not impossible.
If someone told you that good intentions are enough for life to be all roses, they were lying to you. Nor is it true what the little devil suggests that everything is very bad. Happiness is usually the result of a balance. A balance that is difficult to find if we do not strive to work with the forces that are inside and outside of us. It is a question of will, but also of skill and intelligence.
"The most common way to give up power is to think you don't have it"
-Alice Walker-
What does this mean? That things don't usually change on their own. It is very important to see ourselves as people able to redirect the forces we were talking about a moment ago and to reach a state of equilibrium. Without clearly forgetting that there are things that do not depend on our will. This is important, because if we try to have control over even what is not up to us, we will only end up causing ourselves frustration.
In summary, the goal of personal empowerment is for the person to be able to make decisions and deal with the various situations that arise. The secret in this process is that the person understands that the malaise is not always imposed only by external factors, but it is also an internal process that can be controlled and managed.
How can we stimulate personal empowerment?
In order for a person to see themselves this way, they need to have adequate self-esteem. Strengthening the positive vision of oneself leads to having more confidence in one's abilities and in the power to change what we want. This self-esteem must adapt to reality.
We are definitely not doing ourselves a favor if we set too high expectations that we cannot achieve. We will only get frustration. To avoid this, it is extremely important to know yourself well and to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. To achieve this situation and predisposition, it is important to test yourself.
“I've always done things I wasn't ready for. I think that's how you grow up. When there are moments of -Ugh, I'm not entirely sure I can do it- and we oblige ourselves to accept these moments, that's when we progress "
-Marissa Mayer-
If we don't take risks, we can hardly progress. Confronting reality will help us as it will show us that our problems are rarely as bad as we thought, and that we have the skills to cope with adversity. And if we fail in our intent, we will be able to see what we did wrong and change our approach, in order to obtain a better result.
What are the characteristics of a strengthened person?
Finally, let's see what are the characteristics that we can find in a strengthened person:
- She informs herself and tries to know more about the topics that interest her;
- Try to train and acquire new skills;
- Is responsable;
- It is known and accepted;
- Has adequate self-esteem and adequate self-confidence;
- He is aware of the importance of taking care of himself;
- He knows what his social relationships are like and takes care of the important ones, but without self-sabotaging, looking for balanced relationships without toxic emotional dependence;
- He is aware of the importance of establishing limits in his interpersonal relationships;
- He is able to organize his time, defining objectives, needs and priorities;
- Knows how to make decisions;
- Try to resolve conflicts in the best possible way for all parties involved;
- He expresses himself by activating his social skills and exercising his assertiveness, so as to take into account the rights of others and his own.
In summary, thanks to personal empowerment, people are able to live in harmony with themselves and with others, so that their social relationships gain better qualities and their psychological state… Let's keep practicing to grow!
Images courtesy of Michael Rosner Hyman, Austin Schmid, and Jerry Kiesewetter.
