Understanding Personal Empowerment!

I have come to understand our personal power is a combination of our strength (physically, emotionally, energetically, mentally and spiritually), our status (how we are perceived or how we perceive ourselves) and our autonomy (our ability to hold who we are, make our own decisions and be ourselves to create as we see fit).

The idea of personal power is something we are not taught and often stripped of as we grow in a society that teaches us to give our power away. We are taught to give power to others in very direct and sometimes indirect or subtle ways. But having power is important! Power is how much access we have to get what we need, regarding mutual resources, creation or energy.

When we are depressed, anxious or unwell we can begin to take small steps towards healing by making empowered choices that benefit us and this in turn builds our power. When we make a choice to do things that are also building our power, it steps us into a cycle of growth and improvement so we are more able to recover.  

We can choose to take an action that would build our strength. And because strength is one of the ways we innately have power in the world it stops us feeling so powerless and weak. Deep down we know if we are not strong we can be hurt by others, we can be dominated by the threat of stronger people who can use their force and personal will against us. 

Often this is how we might have got stuck in mental health distress in the first place! I know it was for me. Always people pleasing and not feeling able to stand up for myself or what I wanted, feeling bullied and pushed to do things I didn’t want to or didn’t understand. 

We have different types of strength so when choosing to build strength it can be in any of these areas:

• Physical Strength - Physical strength is our ability to be healthy. We can gain physical strength by improving our health and wellness, being fit, and building muscle, stamina, and agility. We can choose to eat well, get plenty of fluids, move or exercise in some way. 

• Mental Strength — Mental strength is our ability to calm the mind and control it. This practice helps us to gain knowledge, and think clearly, and in a way that serves us. Mental strength is being able to maintain a sense of self-worth, affirm and direct ourselves towards our goals, and be able to choose for ourselves. We can gain mental strength by knowing our mind, learning, gaining experience and choosing our thoughts and beliefs that support us.

• Emotional Strength - Emotional strength is the ability to understand, process and use our emotions well to help and aid us. We can build emotional strength by developing emotional intelligence and tolerance. Allowing ourselves to feel more so we are not afraid of our feelings.

• Energetic Strength - Our energetic strength is related to our ability to remain focused, empowered and centred regardless of the circumstances around us. It also relates to our spiritual strength as we commit to having more faith and knowing life is a gift we are given and we can always choose to engage with it in new ways. 

Being depressed, anxious or addicted and in recovery can be lonely. One thing I learned though is that being in these states and reaching out to or surrounding myself with other people in the same place was ultimately not helpful. It might have been reassuring of validating for a while, and sometimes I needed that but for the long term, I needed to change who and what I was connected with previously to heal. 

For example, going onto a social media forum, surrounded by a lot of people who are also depressed or anxious and stating “I’m depressed, who wants to talk?” is not going to shift you out of depression or connect you with a solution. The other person is depressed too! They are just going to say what they want to hear.

What helped me was changing who I was connecting with and being in new environments that were more peaceful, optimistic and empathic. The choice to reach out is helpful. But a more sensible approach might be to reach out towards a solution, like applying for counselling, joining a meditation group, or finding an art event to attend… something where the people are not talking about the problem but focusing on solutions and wellness. 

Having new experiences with different types of people opened my mind and experience to know there are different ways of being and I could choose them too. Even if I didn't always feel like I fitted there or they felt a bit odd to me at first. Most people were always kind and much less judgmental than I thought they would be. 

Having this understanding also gives us more wisdom to discern and choose the connections we make as we rebuild our lives. This can help us to learn how we create the realities, relationships or environments we want to experience and not tolerate realities we do not want to contribute toward.

As we learn about what we like and want we gain more autonomy which helps us build our energetic power. Autonomy is our ability to be ourselves. To think, act, behave and respond as we choose to without being controlled, dominated or coerced by others. We know what we like or don’t, what we want and need to be better. 

Some aspects of autonomy are linked with building status and connections, which are also empowering for us. When we feel more connected to ourselves and are more sure about who we are, we have more freedom to choose. Often this is when we are connected to fewer people but we begin to have more confidence in our ability to cope.  Being alone helps us when we are people-pleasing less and positively focusing on ourselves. 

Autonomy is also linked to our ability to do what we know to be right and hold our integrity. It proves we can grow, move, expand, change, and alchemise ourselves. Our ability to be alone and stay true to our intentions is important when we want to heal and recover. All of this is how we become empowered and no longer feel stuck in old, confused or depressed states. 

When we are empowered we can make more choices, feel more freedom and create a life we enjoy that serves our needs. Ultimately we use our power so we can do what we want in the world...create what we want to create! 

When we are empowered we learn better how to direct our power through where we give our attention and what we do with our energy. All things are created through:

• Wisdom,

• Intention,

• Inspired action,

• Resources,

• Commitment.

When we have personal power, we find out who we truly are! It is easy to be small and meek when we are powerless. But to be strong, powerful, loving and kind is a very different challenge many of us don't seem to be willing or able to rise to! Is this the ultimate challenge of the human condition?

For me, I link my power and my ability to use it wisely with my faith, connection and relationship to God and my faith keeps me humbled and aligned with my intention to be a conduit for more love, freedom and wellness in the world.

Choosing to build our personal power and inner strength does take time. But it starts with small steps and new decisions. Choosing to commit to the idea we have power and can choose how to use it. The more we explore this idea and feed it through our actions, the more we will leave depression, anxiety or addiction behind us and build a new life we enjoy and feel empowered within. 

At Love School your healing and empowerment are important to us and our courses and resources are designed to share the wisdom and knowledge we gained while being a trustworthy guide for your healing journey. 

We think you might find the following courses helpful:

Building Your Energetic Power is a course dedicated to a spiritual journey connected with natural wisdom to support a personal empowerment journey. Join the waitlist now to be notified when this course is ready!

When you are ready to create your life on your terms, life design tools can help you plan a path of recovery and develop a new lifestyle. Our Introduction to Life Design Course is a great start to support your healing journey.

If you are struggling with anxiety or feeling mentally trapped or controlled, our Freedom from Ilusion Course will help you break free from the condoning of your mind and support you to find your authentic truth! Sign up for updates and be notified when the course is released!