The secret to being powerful

The definition of power is the ability to cause or prevent an action, the ability to do something.

We may not have the ability to cause a huge impact on the world at large, but we do have the power to influence ourselves and those around us through the decisions that we make on a daily basis. Our life right now is the result of lots of decisions which we’ve made (or failed to make) in past.

Some decisions don’t influence our day immensely; for example, the outfit we choose that day, the way we do our hair or what we decide to eat. There are other decisions however which can have a massive impact on our world. Let’s look at some examples shall we?

Family: Your family member is upset with. You can decide that you will argue back and give all the reasons under the sun that you are right and they are completely wrong. Or you can decide to listen to what they have to say – really listen and understand what they are trying to tell you and make active changes based on what they’ve said. What do you have to lose? Your family members are those closest to you who know you better than anyone. If someone was to spot something you needed to work on, wouldn’t it be them? My husband sometimes points things out to me and it’s not easy to hear about my mistakes but when I go away and think about it, I realise that he’s right and I see where I need to change. We’re on the same team and he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me so why should I get defensive?

By deciding to listen and change, relationships will get stronger, and you will develop as a person, whereas if you decide to think you’re always right, you could end up pushing people away from you and even right out of your life.

What have your family members been trying to tell you that you haven’t paid attention to? Decide that from now on, you will listen and change.

Your thoughts: We all face negative thoughts on a daily basis, for example: ‘You’re not attractive enough, you don’t have what it takes, s/he doesn’t like you, you won’t be able to handle that, etc. These thoughts can sound very logical but they are all lies which are soul-destroying and prevent many people from moving forward in life. So what can you do? You have the choice of agreeing with that negative thought, ‘Oh yes, it’s true, Mary is much better than me at this so I won’t even bother trying.’ Or you can say to that voice, ‘Get out of my mind! I value myself, I know my worth and I’m going to go for it!’

What negative thoughts have been bombarding your mind? Decide that from now on, you will fight back!

Career/business: You have a choice of entrusting your employees with new responsibilities which will help them to develop further, or not trusting anyone but yourself therefore causing your employees to feel mistrusted and inferior. I tend to be the kind of person who likes to do things myself but one day, when I was doing a bit of soul-searching, I realised that in a way, this was a form of pride. In my mind, I was the only one who could do that task well and there was no one else who could do it as well or better than I. It was actually very self-defeating because I was wasting time on things which other people could do, thus not allowing me to get on with other things. I had to decide that I would let go of this flaw and start investing in others.

What bad habits do you have that affect your career or business? Decide to change.

There are so many examples I could give here of ways that our decisions can impact our life, but you can add your own to the list.

Do you want to be powerful? Think and make decisions which will benefit you and those around you.