Power is not the same as force. True power in interpersonal relations does not involve force at all. If you are someone who wants to develop more personal power in your life and career, listen and take note of these important key aspects of real personal power.
Real power vs. apparent power…
We are all familiar with the “powerful” person in the workplace who is loud and intimidating. However, the strength and weakness of a person is not related to how loud and intimidating they can be. The formula for real power doesn’t require so much energy!
Understanding and developing personal power is one of the most valuable self-management tools there is. That’s why it is a topic I am passionate about.
When you have REAL personal power, you can actually save yourself a lot of energy, among other precious things.
Here are some of the key components of real personal power:
- It’s with you all the time. When someone has a sense of quiet internal confidence, others can sense it. They don’t have to jump up and down, yell and scream, or bang on a desk to demonstrate how powerful they are.
- It is not related to strength and weakness. Strength and weakness implies that one is good and one is bad. Knowing when and how to use your personal power is the real strength!
- You can choose when and how to use it. When you are standing in your power and you choose to remain quiet and calm in a challenging circumstance, it doesn’t mean you have relinquished your power.
- It’s about taking personal responsibility for your actions. This means you are more likely to make conscious choices around when and how you use your power.
- It is about self-acceptance. It doesn’t include beating yourself up. Rather, it is about being your own best advocate. Someone who has positive inner dialogue exudes confidence and power. This is not an egoistic thing. It’s about reminding yourself that you are valuable, safe and loved in times of difficulty, rather than blaming and engaging in negative self-talk. From this place of self-acceptance, you can contribute to yourself, to your loved ones and to people you don’t even know in much more positive ways, and that is powerful.
- It means having healthy boundaries. Recognizing what your needs are, meeting them FIRST, and making requests to others when necessary allows you to give to others from a full cup. It’s difficult (if not impossible) to act from a place of personal power when you are in a frazzled, burned out, overwhelmed state. Boundaries allow you to protect yourself (and your loved ones) from the repercussions of such states.
- It’s about self-trust. Personal power can look different for different people at different times. But it’s ALWAYS about self-trust, exemplified by the FEELING that goes along with the statement: “I trust myself”.
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And if you know a friend or neighbor who could use hearing the advice in this article or needs The Job I Love Toolkit, please forward this to them.