“If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.” – John Maxwell
Some people mistakenly think that change, will happen easily and without effort or sacrifice. However, the opposite is true. When someone says I was really afraid to do something but I somehow mustered up the strength to do it anyways, is an extremely good indicator. This indicates that change is happening in this person’s life. The opposite is knowing what to do but never doing anything about our problems. Inactivity breeds depression, anxiety and self pity. Taking action in our life empowers us and enhances our self worth. The courage to step into the unknown to learn and experience new things in life is the key to change, and essential to reaching our full potential in life.
Having good people who support us is important to our self growth. However, some people can be a negative influence on us trying to achieve our goals and it seems they want to prevent us from changing and improving our lives. Perhaps these people feel threatened and can’t accept you changing one role in your life to another. Perhaps it can be a structural barrier that is actually a barrier put their to prevent you from accessing a certain resource. Regardless we have to empower ourselves to change. We do this by our ability to manage our emotions, gaining knowledge, perseverance and constantly looking at ways to improve ourselves. It’s important to look at the source of the criticism. Is the person qualified to judge me on this topic? What is their motive with this criticism? It’s also important to learn from criticism. What did I do wrong in this situation? What could I do differently next time? This knowledge is important since we have to be aware of the potential barriers that prevent us from being successful. Developing a solid foundation of people that will aid you in achieving your goals and dreams in life is a critical element in the change process.
Not knowing what to change or how to change can be very frustrating to many people. To make things even harder is the fact that even if we knew what to change could we possibly go through the fear and insecurity associated with change alone, without the encouragement and support of other people. For many people they would still be unable to change. Consequently, in this little mini article on empowerment I would like to suggest 2 simple methods that are very effective in the change process.
One way to make change happen in our lives is through empowering ourselves to change. Having good people to talk to and be honest with will help empower us. This happens when we ask other people to help us set goals and then hold ask the person to hold us accountable to reach these goals. This actually is based on goal setting and feedback. This has been proven to be effective in the change process.
The second example to ensure change and empowerment, is through taking ownership of our personality defects especially when we are in conflict situation. This concept is based on, if I change myself, this will empower me to make positive changes in my life and help me fit in better with my environment. Blaming others only encourages self pity, and can be potentially damaging to myself and my loved one’s. The road of life has many detours. Taking ownership for my actions and having people to hold me accountable for my actions, will ensure continued growth and self improvement.
This was the topic in my men’s group held in my office on February 26/11 at 10:oo AM.
