Do you feel that you are in the driving seat of your life? Or more like a passenger just going along for the ride?  Whichever it is, it is never too late to reclaim your personal power and put yourself firmly back in the driver’s seat. Do you realise how powerful you really are? When you first think of the word power, what do you think of? Unconditional love? A strong force? Dominance? Power has been something that has been utilised or abused for so long that it can be easy to forget that it is something valuable that actually resides within each of us and that we all have a right to stand in our own power. This personal power is not an aggressive or controlling type of power, which is fear based. It is our own unique light, our ability to be authentic, true to ourselves, to be willing to take 100% responsibility for our own life and choices, allowing us to respond to life in line with our own inner guidance. Personal power involves awareness, to be consciously present and engaged with our experiences whilst recognising and acknowledging our own worth in each and every moment. It’s to understand, acknowledge, value and appreciate everything that is you, every part of you without judgement; to truly accept who you are and what you want completely, without making any apologies to anyone for who you are or you’re choices.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are  powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?  Actually, who are you not to be?”  ~ Marianne Williamson

We are all made of energy, the same energy, love and light. We are meant to be our own unique authentic selves. There is nothing to be gained from shrinking and hiding so that other people will not feel insecure around us. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we free ourselves from our own fears, it allows others to be set free too. Time to step into our power We have not lived in such an exciting time for many generations, where we have more choices, more equal rights, more access to information and more freedom than ever before. It’s not that long ago that people were punished for thinking differently or being diverse.  But during these past eras of fear based control and power struggles, we seem to have built up a fear of power, even our own power. I believe we are already stepping into new era where it is the perfect timing to release those old collective fears about power and step into our own light and proudly let it shine. Ways we give away our personal power The first step to reclaiming your power is recognizing where you are giving it away. We give our power away in a variety of ways. But there are steps we can take to become aware of these behaviours and change them into new ones that empower us, rather than disempower.  We are always using our own power, the question is whether we are using it in ways that empower or disempower us.

	How we give power away	How we can reclaim it
Resistance	When we resist and fight against problems, they drain us as we are literally giving our energy to the battle.	The more we allow ourselves to accept what we cannot change and change what we can, this allows us to go with the flow.
Fear	When we allow fears and anxieties to rule, they take over	Challenging and overcoming fears empowers us to become stronger
Denial	Withdrawing from situations, hoping that things will just work out, giving our power to what we are running from.	Facing a situation and dealing with it allows you to be and act as you want and stand in your power whilst doing so.
Procrastination	Avoiding action can cause us to feel stuck and robs us of our power to act.	Making decisions and/or taking action allows us to use our power in the way we choose.
Self-Doubt	When we doubt ourselves we are dis-empowering ourselves.	As we develop more and display belief and acceptance of ourselves our personal power does too.
Feeling victimized	If we feel like a victim then we are giving our power to another.	Being willing to take 100% responsibility for ourselves and our lives is much more empowering.
Perfectionism	When we put pressure on ourselves and the world to be perfect, we are robbing ourselves of the power to be happy.	Learning to love, accept, value and appreciate ourselves is one of the most empowering things we can do for ourselves.
People Pleasing	This comes from a core belief that we have to pleas others, be a certain way to be loved. When we live by others expectations, not our own we feel unhappy	As we learn to be true to ourselves, clearly saying who and how we are, we are standing in our power.  No one else can live your life for you, it is yours to choose.
Negative Self talk (inner critic)	This chips away at our own inner self, depleting our energy, happiness and power	As we start to change self-talk to be encouraging and supportive, we can step into our own power again.
Toxic Relationships	When we allow ourselves to put up with toxic behaviours  in relationships (work, love) we are giving our power to that person	Developing clear boundaries about what is acceptable and ok for you to tolerate and what is not ok, reclaims your power.
Manipulation	However it is done, manipulation has the sole purpose of taking our energy (power)	Setting healthy boundaries and standing up for ourselves, our thoughts, and feelings reclaims this.
Putting happiness outside yourself	When we say Il be happy when I’m thinner or I have more money, or I have a loving relationship, you are robbing yourself of the power to be happy by making it dependent on something outside yourself	Decide to be happy NOW, reclaim your power to be happy. Thinking of all the things you are grateful for can help to shift your focus

Exercise to reclaim your power

1. Sit or lie down, make yourself comfortable and take a few deep breaths in to relax.
2. Ask your body what percentage your personal power is at, notice what number pops into your mind.
3. Imagine a circle a little distance ahead of you, surround this circle with whatever you choose to create a circle of safety. (It may be trees, angels, light, etc.)
4. In the circle visualise placing the people and/or situations that have made you feel drained or taken your power lately (if visualising them as they are is difficult, just let them be a blob or shape instead.) They are in the centre of the circle and are shrunk to much smaller than normal, muted and fixed there, unable to get up and move around.
5. Imagine stepping into the circle and as you do you become a bit taller, as you walk around the outer edge of the circle, see all the power and energy that you had given away to these people and situations becoming a bright light as it is returned to you. Each time some more of your power flows back into you, you feel taller, more complete while the people and situations in the centre become smaller and less significant. By the time you have walked around the whole circle you are giant and filled with light.
6. Stand in the doorway and say to very tiny collection in the centre of the circle “you have lost your power over me.” And see them disappear.
7. Step out of the circle, filled with light and imagine sitting or lying back into your original comfortable position.
8. Once again, ask your body and mind what percentage your personal power is at now, then notice what number pops in your mind now. Notice how you feel.
9. Gently bring your awareness back to the here and now and open your eyes.

The power is within you You have an amazing power within you, you can choose to acknowledge it or allow it to be drained by yourself, others and situations. But it is it your birth right, it is the love and light of creation being expressed uniquely as you. You are always using your power, but how are you using it to empower yourself, your life, or your dreams? Or are you so powerful that you disempowering yourself? It is always there and you can start reclaiming it at any time. Views:]]>