Do you ever feel like your life is out of your control? Sometimes, feeling that you own the power in your life can be hard. It can be so easy to give your power to someone else, but we’re going to give you the tools you need to Take YOUR Power Back! There are many different ways to get back into the driver's seat of your life, take back your power and stand up for yourself. When you do, you’ll wonder why you gave it away in the first place!
Taking back your power is going to mean something different to everyone. In some cases we give our power away, sometimes without even knowing it. In other cases, our power is taken away, whether we want it to be or not. If you’re not sure exactly what taking your power back means to you, read on to hear 5 different ways you can take your power back in your life, both professionally and personally.
1. Position Yourself as a Learner
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘Knowledge is power.’ There is always going to be room for learning more, but you have to be open to being a Learner. Plenty of people think that they have learned everything they can, and you shouldn’t be ashamed to think that, but you should never close your mind to learning and listening. You can learn new things in every aspect of your life, especially about yourself. Learning something new doesn’t have to be extreme, like going back to school, but it could be something as simple as, reading an article on something you don’t know much about, listening to a podcast on a specific subject you are interested in, or speaking to a true expert on that topic who might be able to teach you something new. You have the power to learn, and that is something that no one can take away from you.
2. List the Things That Have Kept You From Doing What You Want
Everyday people make excuses for why they can’t do what they are passionate about. The list could be endless, but the excuses we hear the most are - time, money, availability, and family blockers. We understand the kids keep you busy all day, work is crazy, or maybe it's more mental and you were always told you couldn’t do something for various reasons. We get it. However, if you want to try to overcome some or all of these roadblocks, here's our tip: create a list of the things that have kept you from doing what you want to do and find a way to conquer them. In order to be your true self, you have to be able to allow yourself to dream your dreams. In order to do that, you have to learn what is stopping you from achieving them. Creating lists is a great way to remember things and to organize your brain. You can make grocery lists, to-do lists, so we urge you to write a list of what is holding you back. Putting the hurdles in a list format allows you to physically cross them off, which is 1000% more satisfying to the human brain than just thinking about all of the reasons you CAN'T do something. Once you truly know what is holding you back, our hope is that you can overcome those issues, fulfill those dreams you have and take your power back to achieving them.
3. Be Disciplined on Your “Me Time"
"Me Time" is something that everyone deserves and is the way most people unwind after a long week or a hard day. Me time can be extremely rewarding, so why aren’t more women jumping on this bandwagon? Two words: Selfish and Guilt. Those are the feelings most women experience, especially moms, when they consider scheduling in that me time. In our Bringing Momming Back Mini-Masterclass, we remind women that self care is not selfish. You can’t pour from an empty cup, so it’s imperative that you be disciplined about your me time. If you’re ready to take your power back in this area, try taking a half hour break just for yourself one day. If your life is extremely hectic, maybe just take one day out of the weekend and have an afternoon just for you. Me time should be something special and not something you feel bad about, so discipline yourself and come out on top.
4. Learn How to Say “No”
Saying “No” is one of the hardest things to do, especially to the people you love. When people that we love or look up to ask us to do something, our first instinct is to say yes, even when we don’t want to. Humans strive to make each other happy, which makes saying no even harder. Sometimes saying no is exactly what needs to happen. You need to know your limits and when saying no is best for you. Next time someone asks you to do something you really aren’t interested in doing, just say no. Don’t give excuses, don’t lie and make something else up to them. You can take your power back by saying no. Think about all the reasons in your head why saying no is what is best for you (and if you don’t have any other reason other than you don’t want to - that’s fine too). Saying no is what taking back your power is all about. The most successful people are the ones who are able to prioritize and focus on what brings them joy.
5. Practice Acceptance
Finally, in order to take back your power, you have to practice acceptance. You have to know how to accept both the good and the bad because they are both completely natural in life. Accepting the bad is clearly the much harder part, but is what makes us stronger in the end. You also have to understand that accepting something doesn't mean that you have to give up or you agree with the outcome. You may have to accept that you aren’t going to get that raise at work, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go searching for a better job somewhere else. Accepting a new job gives you the opportunity to one day accept the good that came out of that situation. By practicing acceptance, you are not giving your power to the situation. You are accepting it and moving on. Learn from it, know you can change your situation, and realize how empowering it is to not let anything have control over you any longer once you accept the reality of the situation.
Taking your power back isn’t the easiest thing to do, but it is totally possible. We like to share our tips because it gets you thinking about your life in a different way, hopefully sparks some ideas of what could be holding you back, and expedites the process to create more happiness in your life. We hope you have something new to try and get to take the power back in your life, today!