Disempowerment is an oppressive state that is either self-induced– usually the result of conditioning in the early formative years of our development– or caused by others. In many cases, we are responsible for our own disempowerment. We keep ourselves from moving forward. To some extent, we are products of our past, and our pasts may have included a degree of negative programming. For example, the average child hears the word no 10 times more often than the word yes. In addition, our parents may have unknowingly passed on their biases and prejudices to us. Negative programming is the result of the messages we may not realize have influenced us throughout our lives, for example “Why can’t you be more like your older brother?” or “Don’t do that, you’ll get hurt” and “Please don’t touch that, you’ll break it for sure. These messages are examples of how we become conditioned to think, believe, and react throughout life. The concept of empowerment comes straight out of the corporate world. It was developed as a tool to provide employees at all levels of an organization with the authority and responsibility for making their own decisions. On a personal level, empowering yourself means believing in your ability to execute your vision and fulfill your dreams. You won’t achieve your Exceptional Living Plan unless you free yourself from the mental shackles of fear and self-doubt. The following are just a few ideas of specific actions you can take to empower yourself:
- Build Self Confidence
- Drive Out Fear
- Replacing Negative Thought Patterns with Positive Ones
In addition to empowering yourself, it’s important to empower others as well. Empowering others will unearth a hidden potential like treasure buried deep beneath the surface of the ground. It means seeing how they can play a role in helping you achieve your life goals, while simultaneously helping build their own skill sets. Too often, we cling to the responsibility for tasks, activities, and projects without ever allowing others to lend a hand. By delegating some of the responsibility to others, we help them learn, develop and grow into their own potential. Find out more about empowering others with Milestone 10’s activity: Outsourcing.