Monday, October 20, 2014

Living and Learning Our Power

This morning while reflecting on how best to discuss the topic of power, this quote appeared on my tweet feed: “Learning too soon our limitations, we never learn our powers. ~ Mignon McLaughlin  

Intrigued, I immediately ran a search on Mignon McLaughlin - About 287,000 results appeared in a quarter of a second – She was an American journalist and author – born June 6, 1913, in Baltimore, Maryland. Over a century later, her words still ring true. 

As a facilitator and coach, this question occupies a lot of attention. When we get "stuck" and want insight,  I always ask the question: What are you doing today to learn about your power in order to improve your performance?

From these "stuck" conversations came a 60 minute workshop on “Abuse of Power in the workplace” that I developed and facilitated together with a colleague, for two consecutive years at the WIN Conference . 

At the conference, each participant had a story, each was looking to understand. To retain power we each need to understand these FOUR essential behaviors and attitudes.

1.  Turn self-doubt into intention

Doubting yourself or feeling sorry for yourself is one way to abuse your own power and weaken yourself. If you abuse your power to create self-doubt then you’ll be even more confused when you look to the external world for answers. The next time you catch yourself thinking, or believing, “I don’t know what to do,” let that thought go! Push that thought right out of your head.
Remember You are a naturally creative being – It makes no sense to turn your creative energies into self-destruction – LEARN how to use your power to create certainty.  Accept that uncertainty is a part of life; if you want certainty then you have to create it for yourself. You need to trust that deep down you do know what to do – pay attention to this clarity.

 2.  Face your fear

Use your power to face your fear. Courage can be defined as the willingness to face your fears. Stop spending your energy on what you don’t want and put your energy into what you do want. This energy will build into a motivation - a positive way to take action and turn your desire into your reality. Spend time imagining what you really want, use your power to  create what you want.


     

3.  It's not about Right and Wrong


Defending your point of view is not a good use of your power – each person has the freedom to choose their perspective. Don’t pour your energy into arguing right and wrong, ask yourself whether you can accept the others persons point of view and live with the consequences.


4.  Decide what’s best for you and move on it

Use your energy to plot your path clearly and then let your actions follow your intentions. Don’t ask permission. If someone else has an issue with your decisions, let the issue be theirs to worry about.

Accept what you have to deal with and focus the direction of your energy in a positive way.