You can increase your personal power with these seven principles: Purpose. Passionate commitment. Picture. Persistence. Peace. Present moment. Positive spirit.
No one gets through this life without the stress and frustration of mistakes, setbacks, and obstacles. However, living your life guided by these principles will strengthen your personal power to get you through any predicament.
Good relationships are the foundation of all success, whether professional or personal. We need others to make our dreams come true, our goals come to fruition and live a fulfilling life. However, when we come to these relationships accountable to our authentic best, we and others benefit more.
Take a broad look at your life through these seven principles. See where you are strong and where you might be lacking. Then, imagine what would change if you integrated them into your thoughts, behaviors, and choices.
Purpose: What drives you to get up every morning? It can be something significant like inventing a new product to make millions of people’s lives easier. Or it could be more intimate, such as being a loving parent. Either way, having a purpose helps you prioritize your choices less stressfully.
Passionate commitment: A purpose isn’t powerful unless attached to an underlying passion that stems from a good reason. Passion emerges when you know why your purpose matters so deeply. Whatever your “why” is, it’s profoundly personal and needs no validation from anyone else.
Picture: A songwriter told me the secret to writing great lyrics is to create images for the listener. A picture in the mind is worth more than the thousand words you tell yourself. Visualize what successfully living your purpose looks like.
Persistence: When your best efforts are thwarted, don’t give up. Take this as a sign of the challenges and tests you must pass to reach the next level. Be adaptable and flexible to help you move through these issues. Let them strengthen, not weaken, your purpose and passion.
Peace: Sometimes, you can’t change, control, or navigate around what’s getting in the way of your purpose. This is the time to be at peace with what is. Accept the reality of today. It’s the fastest way to relax your mind and see new options and opportunities tomorrow. Acceptance is not defeat. It’s a stress reliever that allows you to be more open-minded and creative.
Present moment: You execute your purpose now, not in the past or the future. Focus on what you can do to live your purpose today, no matter how insignificant. How you handle the present moment, good or bad, impacts what the next moment will bring.
Positive spirit: The word spirit evokes the idea of the whole person. Our greatest asset is to be fully integrated, including our body, mind, and emotions. Make positive choices in what you think, feel, and do. Don’t deny what is difficult, but don’t wallow in it.
There’s plenty of chaos in the world, and likely in your life, too. Today, take a break from looking outward. Instead, empower yourself from the inside out by implementing these seven principles.
Decide to live your authentic best instead of reacting to the worst around you.
Until next week, take good care.
Jo-Aynne Von Born, Leadership and Executive Coach