I caught up with a bunch of people yesterday.
After talking for a while, I noticed a general vibe of confusion, of lack and limitation. My whole being responded to it and I noticed how I started feeling like I needed to zip my mouth. It was a strange feeling, as it totally contradicted what I had just gone through and shifted during a course that I've been doing over the past few weeks.
Just for your interest, the course that I've been doing has been all about releasing old patterns and self-sabotages, that have been holding me back, and it's been a very revealing and powerful time for me.
So after feeling super inspired and speaking from a clear and passionate place, a strange sense of holding back overcame me. Why? Not because I felt I needed to hold anything back, no, more because I got the sense that the others felt intimidated by my clarity.
Wow! How crazy!
On reflection, I realised again that sooo many people feel intimidated day by day.
People feel intimidated by successful people or daunted by long journeys. People get overwhelmed by stuff that's expected of them and pressure on self. (I'm no exception!) There is competition and comparisitis (which I call the inflammatory condition around comparing yourself to others that might be more successful, 'further' or 'better' than you).
There is so much out there that gives us the feeling that we aren't good enough or that we need to know, need or be more.
How to combat that? How do we find a way to just be us and shine our light?
I'm super passionate about this topic, as self-empowerment is super dear to my heart and soul! I love it when people step up and into their full potential and truly show who they are - no holding back!
Overall, of course, self-empowerment is a huge topic that entails all sorts of aspects, but today in this blog post, I'd like to narrow the answer down to 6 Steps to Confidence and Empowerment. Master them, and you'll be a big chunk further down the road on your journey towards true empowerment!
Step 1) Embody your Spirit - Be present
With a strong sense of centredness you can do anything. Using mindfulness techniques, meditation, visualisations.. Anything that assists you in feeling totally earth connected and present in your body. So you can be calm, relaxed, grounded and in trust, whenever you need it (so stuff, people or situations don't trigger you into fear, anxiety and overwhelm anymore).
Step 2) Know your purpose
Why are you here? What's the reason for which you (would) jump out of bed in the morning? Everyone brings a gift into the world, no matter what that is. It's your unique purpose that you're supposed to be living and sharing with the world. Knowing the reason why you get up in the morning and which keeps everything alive for you, gives you a strong sense of purpose which feels super powerful in itself.
Step 3) Take Responsibility
This one is a big one. Responsibility can be broken down into two words "responding" with "ability". So in other words, by taking responsibility, you respond to situations with ability. Even if it is "simply" owning a situation, it means that you acknowledge the fact that you create your reality and that no matter what's going on in your life, you are a part creator of it all.
If you're not familiar with this way of thinking, then I'd like to add for you, that I don't mean that you consciously choose to get sick or have an accident. But by owning your part in what's happening, you acknowledge that you subconsciously chose to be involved in specific situations, in order for you to learn your lessons.
Taking responsibility also means that you know that you create whatever you believe to be true. If your mindset is set on creating the life of your dreams and you know you'll get there because of it, then that's a massive point of difference to the all so well known victim mentality - the "poor me" that is helplessly exposed to situations and that doesn't know what to do about them.
Step 4) Have a clear Vision
This is one of my favourite areas. I love assisting people in seeing clearly! Having a clear vision means allowing yourself to dream. It means allowing yourself to explore the deepest depths of your inner being for what you really truly want, not just something you're chasing because your parents or uncle told you to do so. A vision is something that's alive for you in your heart, that gets you super excited just thinking about it and by following it, you're sending yourself the message that you are worth it. And how empowering is that?
Step 5) Have an Action Plan
Be empowered. In your body, your mindset and outlook on life. Take action and don't wait for things to happen to you. Own your life, your story, your outcome.
By knowing what steps to take and which ones when, we can avoid overwhelm and lack of focus. Knowing your action plan, gives you the clarity to be able to focus solely on the next steps. When you don't have a plan, it's easy to get swamped with overwhelm and confusion, which can result in nothing but feeling down on yourself for not getting anything achieved - and this in turn is super disempowering!
Step 5) Self Love & Mindset
This point includes self care just as much as changing your thought patterns and looking after your mental health. You need to have had good food, plenty of water and enough rest to feel strong in your body. Only if you're able to keep up those basic needs, as well as your mindset, you're going to feel strong and on top of the world. Having an empowered mindset entails changing your thought patterns that are no longer serving you anymore into positive ones. This requires clearing old blockages and self-sabotage patterns that we all have (usually from at least since our first few years of life).
Free yourself to be the you you want to be!
In a nutshell, these are the overarching steps that need to be taken towards self-empowerment and confidence that get you to success (and this list is by no means exhaustive).
It's not an easy journey that can be taken light heartedly.
On the contrary, I actually believe it's quite a "cut down to the core" action which has a very yang/male energy. It's penetrating, clear and focused.
But if you do manage to hold this space for yourself within yourself, then you'll allow your yin /female energy to flow, which brings creativity, fun, inspiration and being in the flow. It is then all happening in a balanced way - like a beautiful flowing river in a gorge - protected and strong.
Remember, every single one of us has got both energies within.
If you allow yourself to truly shine or not, that's totally up to you.
It's my big vision for there to be as many people as possible living an authentic, empowered and thriving life and that’s why I wrote my book, “Remember Who You Are”.
Shine your light. Be empowered. Step into your full potential and thrive. Your Path is written in your Feet.