Seven foundations of personal power by Torsten Lueddecke
Personal Power is different from power owed to a position held, a role in society or power due to resources someone controls. This power is temporary as it is per definition depending on something outside of yourself and thus can be taken away from you. “Personal“ power on the other hand can not be taken away. You either step into it and own it … or you don’t.
And here is how you do it.
PART ONE: Authenticity
- The way you show up in life has to be congruent with who you are.
This is the essence of personal power. Living a life where you are fully and unapologetically expressing all of who you are. Well, most people don’t even know who they are … and thus have no idea how to follow this rule. In that case this rule becomes the perfect tool to finally discover who you are by applying it backwards. The principle is easy. Every time you make a decision and take an action and you feel empowered and at peace – this is who you are. If you don’t feel that way, correct your course until you do.
- You can always see, if you are willing to look.
This principle is about total honesty with yourself and what is going on in your life. Whenever you think, you “don’t know“ you might well be in denial. Connect with what is going on, observe with an open, non-judgemental mind and express whatever intuitively comes up. With the intention of speaking the truth, whatever that might be. The willingness to face up means you know exactly where you stand and is an absolute necessity to be able to make the right decisions and put yourself in the driver’s seat.
- Speaking your truth is more important than getting approval
You are not out to please people. While saying things that get your approval is all about you (getting approval), saying your truth is creating value for others and more often than not people will be grateful for you getting yourself out of the way. You are out to express whatever is true for you. You will have noticed that powerful people do just that. That is why other people are listening. That is why the words of powerful people have an impact and move others. You will also notice that speaking your truth will gain you respect and take relationships to whole new levels.
- Speak with the intention of being heard.
Whenever you open your mouth to say something, the purpose is to be heard. Put your power behind your words and show up with the intention of being heard and of being seen. People’s unconscious minds are wired to react more to the way you say something than to the actual content. Practice to speak with the intention of being heard – all the time. Saying hello, commenting on something, sharing an observation, whatever it is, put your powerful being behind your words.
PART TWO: MIND CONTROL
- The quality of your conversations determine the quality of your life.
While the conversations we have with others determine the quality of our relationships, more than 95% of all conversation are happening within us. The quality of those internal conversations, the conversations we have with ourselves will either empower us or take away from who we are. Controlling the internal dialogue is key to a healthy and powerful mind that will guide us with clarity and direct us to create the life we want.
- Be your word
Although it is common knowledge, that the unconscious mind outplays the conscious mind, very few people truly understand what that means. Basically it means that if you consciously want one thing but your unconscious is not aligned, you will not get the desired outcome. Full stop. The way to train your unconscious mind to support you in your conscious goals is to condition it to trust your word and your declarations. If you keep declaring something and don’t follow through, your unconscious will conclude (s)he does not mean it anyway. On the other hand, if you practice to keep your word, your unconscious will take it serious and align all resources to realize your declarations.
- Learn to make distinctions.
The more you control your mind the more powerful you get. Sharpen your mind by making distinctions through the use of language. Our brains are hardwired to generalize. This is evolutions way to become efficient as we save time and energy through generalisation. While this might be a useful characteristic in everyday situations it is worth training your mind to become a precision tool in the areas that matter and where details are important. Learn to use language as precise as possible by making specific distinctions.
Be rigorous with all points above!
