Knowing Your Personal Power

The best tonic in the world is the exhilaration which comes from the consciousness of personal power.   ~Orison Swett Marden

We’ve all been there – the moment in a conversation when we feel our sense of power slowly ebbing away. We experience the awareness of losing something – our choices, our confidence,  our solid ground. No matter how powerful we feel when the conversation starts, these moments can still happen – weakness and confusion can still set in.

 

This occurrence is often the root of conflict avoidance. Perhaps in the past, it’s what’s happened with a particular person, and you feel that lack of power in dealing with them. Maybe you generally don’t see yourself as having the toughness to confront.

I was happy to discover this quote by Mr. Marden because it describes the opposite situation – the times when we realize we do have personal power in our lives.  Personal power doesn’t mean the ability to overpower someone else. It is the complete power you have over yourself and your life as an individual.

In other words, your answers to questions like: What are your choices here?  What can you do? What is it you don’t have to do? What are you willing to do (or not)? What will you accept (or not)?

Here’s the truth:  you always have personal power in every circumstance. Your choices may vary, the realities of the situation will shape what that power looks like, and how you use your power may be situational . . . but it is always there.

Think of it like the stars and planets of the universe that surround our Earth. Not being able to see them in the daytime doesn’t remove them from existence.

Discovery is the key – bringing that personal power into your consciousness. In answering some of the above questions for yourself, and realizing those decisions do lie with you, you’ll experience the exhilaration Mr. Marden describes, and it will be the tonic that keeps your feet firmly planted.

DrK 

If you'd like to know more about how to discover your personal power, contact me at confidentconflict.com for a complimentary conversation!  
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