Power is the capacity to influence the way people think, feel, and act. We use that influence all day, every day, and we each have WAY more power than we give ourselves credit for.
We have influence over ourselves – our own actions, thoughts, feelings. We have influence over others – our work colleagues, people within our communities and within our families. And we have influence over things, organizations and events around us.
Think about all the people around you who care what you think, care what you say, and look to you for your leadership and guidance! You might be surprised to know who’s watching you, and looking to you for direction.
Some days I don’t feel very powerful. In fact, I have days where I feel discouraged, disheartened, and plain old tired. However, I know that my emotions come in cycles. I have ups and downs, and get to experience both. Because other days I feel immensely powerful, and what a rush!
When we feel powerful, we can leverage our power – whether for ourselves, or those around us, or towards outcomes in which we believe.
Similarly, our time to heal, grow and lead also comes in cycles.
And sometimes, we need time to work on our inner selves (or observe our outer selves) so we can get back to that power place inside of us that we all have. Until we find our own balance, we may have a hard time exerting our power in the best – and most healthy – ways.
A couple of weeks ago, I took a weekend for myself and went on a women’s retreat, and it was FABULOUS. (By the way, if you want to know more about the specific one I went on, and maybe sign up yourself, go to http://www.christinehassler.com/events/a-womans-retreat-chrysalis/ )
I was reminded that healing is a life-long process. We all have wounds – some large and some small – that affect how we interact with others and ourselves.
These wounds might come from our childhood, or from things in our past. They can also come from letting others – or even ourselves – breach our boundaries in our everyday life.
Even if we’ve done the healing work for years (I know I have!), it doesn’t mean we’re done growing. As a matter of fact, the more we heal, the more we’re called to go to the next level. So the healing leads right into growing.
We grow our capacity to deal with challenges. We grow our understanding of what stands in our way. We grow our capacity to feel and understand the challenges of others.
And as we grow, we’re called into more opportunities to lead. That leadership is about exerting our POWERFUL influence – not to force others to follow, but rather to inspire, motivate, challenge and encourage others to go with us, to accompany us on our path.
And so the cycle continues. As we lead, we find more things that need healing – and we continue to grow, and our leadership takes us to the next level.
Between and among all of these cycles is our power – our beautiful, important, personal power. We get to choose how to use this power – our influence – to benefit ourselves and others.
I’d love to hear from you how you’ve come into your power – how have you witnessed the cycles of heal, grow, lead in your own life, and how has your influence changed and increased?