Attitudes And Power

The word "power" has such a negative connotation.
The word seems to conjure up images of selfish, scheming individuals forcing others to succumb to their will. This may be true in a movie, yet is a fiction when it comes to real life. No one is a victim of such forces, or any other forces, for that matter.

Power means "work done." By putting a certain amount of energy into an activity you get a certain result out, thus work was done. For some reason, we seem to believe there is something narcissistic about believing we possess personal power. People who demonstrate personal power by making effective changes in their lives are often seen as a threat of some kind to the rest of us.

Lots of us believe we are not allowed to make the changes we want - that it would be wrong, or hurtful to others. We seem to believe we are responsible for the state of other’s lives, and therefore our actions must be always considerate of others before we can act.

If I were to always "consider" the needs of others before I act, I would accomplish little during my life. Everyone is responsible for their own life. No one else can breathe for you, talk for you, think or move for you, therefore the final decision of what to do rests with you.

True power is deciding what you want, and making it happen by what you think, say and do. At times what you say or do will be inconvenient to other people, and they are free to inform you of it. Depending upon the degree of perceived inconvenience, the protestations may be loud.

This does not mean that you are using your power against someone else and turning them into a victim. It means you are doing what you are doing and they are doing what they are doing. One is not wrong or right in relation to the other.

You may feel trepidation around what you are doing. The new and unknown is accompanied by fear. Just because you feel fear doesn’t mean you are doing something wrong. It means you are feeling fear, that is all. We have been trained to believe the possession of power is wrong, or that it only belongs in the hands of the "authorities," whoever they are.

Getting out of bed in the morning means applying power (work done) to the task. It takes energy to move oneself from a reclining to a vertical position. It is the same with anything you want to do in life. The task is no more involved than thinking it through, planning the work and working the plan.

The biggest issue is combing out the emotional tangles surrounding your personal worth. You do not need anyone’s permission to do what you want to with your life.
It is yours, bought and paid for, and you have every right to do with it what you will.

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