KEY TAKEAWAY: Last week, you identified where in your life you would like to feel better or differently than you do. So, how empowered do you feel to create the change you desire in your life? Our sense of personal empowerment is influenced by how we feel in our inner selves, physically, and financially. How good do you feel in these areas, and how well does that support the change you desire? If not, why not, and what area could you address to make you feel more empowered? Scroll down to the TAKE ACTION section for this week’s actionable steps.

Last week, we started off by having you figure out your starting point. You reflected on the different areas of your life and where you would like to feel better or differently than you do, not through a lens that focuses on what’s missing or not good enough but rather on what you want to add to or gain more of in your life.

As part of that, we touched on the topic of “fulfillment” – where fulfillment was defined as “the meeting of a requirement or condition”¹ – and what would make you feel more fulfilled in the different areas of your life.

Importantly, that “requirement or condition” is something that you define for yourself. You are the one who knows what that requirement or condition is for you in the different facets of your life. After all, this is your life and journey, and no matter how much someone or something (including your ego) tries to convince you otherwise, ultimately, you know how you feel or don’t feel.

This week, I want to extend that conversation because there is another aspect of fulfillment that is important (and is near and dear to my own heart and work), and that has to do with personal empowerment. According to Dr. Gregory Scott Brown, a psychiatrist, mental health writer, and author, fulfillment is also characterized by a life that is attainable – where a person feels able to achieve what they want in their lives.²

So, here’s the question for this week:

Do you feel able to create what you want in your life?

In other words, how empowered do you feel in your life to actually feel that you can do what you need to do in order to create the change you would like to feel or have in your life?

And if not, why not?

In my book, THE PERSONAL POWER PROGRAM, I defined personal power as the measure of influence you have over your own life. It is feeling like you can do what you need to do in order to create the change you would like to feel or have in your life. It is feeling that the life you want – how you want to feel and live – is attainable.

Not because you can control everything in your life or all outcomes but, ultimately, because you control yourself.

You know that you have the power to choose and take action in your life and, in fact, are the only person who can. Personal Power is feeling that you can make the choices and take the actions that support how you want to feel and live because you feel empowered to do so.

So, what makes us feel empowered?

I believe it is when we feel a strong sense of well-being in three areas:

1. SELF: Having a strong relationship with our inner self, one that gives us clarity, guidance, inner support, and resilience.
2. BODY: Feeling good in our physical skin and having a body that supports our ability to engage in daily and other activities we desire.
3. MONEY: Feeling financially secure and capable, with resources to meet needs, achieve goals, and navigate unexpected life events.

When we have a strong foundation of well-being in these three areas, we have the resources—inner, physical, and financial—to make more choices in our lives. We feel more able to take action to do what supports how we want to feel and live (even when it’s scary to do so) and to navigate life challenges with resilience because we have more resources that support us in doing so.

So, what about you?

How would you rate your well-being in SELF, BODY & MONEY?

In other words, how empowered do you feel to achieve what you want to feel and have in your life?

Our sense of empowerment matters because when we don’t feel empowered in our lives, we can feel powerless. And feeling powerless not only is soul-sucking, but it can lead to a vicious cycle because it affects the lens through which we view life and how we live it.

We may focus on all that we can’t control, can get stuck in the blame game and why our lives are as they are. We can stay stuck because instead of taking action to achieve what we want in our lives, we focus more on what’s not possible than what could be.

Our sense of empowerment is also important because taking the steps we need to in order to get from where we are to where we want to go isn’t always easy. It takes effort. And sometimes, it takes a lot of effort because life isn’t without challenges.

Work. Home. Family. Other personal obligations. Resource constraints. Stress. Loss. Heartache. And and and. It can be tough to just get through some days, much less to make an effort to create the change we want to feel and have in our lives.

Therefore, the more resources we have – internally, physically, and financially – the more resources we have to help us get through and make the effort to achieve what we desire.

Well-Being in SELF

Following are some elements that I use to describe well-being in Self:

• It is knowing who you are as you are.
• It’s embracing yourself as you are and feeling good in your skin, literally and figuratively.
• It’s getting clear on what you want and what you need to feel good and doing what supports that.
• It’s owning your place and space in the world and helping yourself to step into your potential.
• It’s acting as your best advocate.
• It’s being present in your life and finding peace inside you even when what’s going on outside is not so peaceful.
• It is being in a loving, supportive, compassionate, and thriving relationship with yourself.

So, reviewing those elements, how would you assess where you are in each?

How well do you know yourself and what you want? How well do you accept yourself as you are? How good of an advocate are you for yourself? How peaceful do you feel, and how present are you in your life? How good is your relationship with you?

Well-Being in BODY

Following are some elements that I use to describe well-being in Body:

• It’s doing what helps your body function well so you can function well.
• It’s enjoying a thriving relationship with exercise and food that feeds not just your physical self but your whole self.
• It’s safeguarding your health by engaging in health (not just sick) care.
• It’s doing what supports your body so it can support you to feast, not just nibble, on life.

So, reviewing those elements, how would you assess where you are in each?

How well do you do the things that support your body to function well so that you can function well? How well do you honor the amazing creation that your body is and support it with exercise, supportive eating habits, and health – not just sick- care?

Well-Being in MONEY

Following are some elements that I use to describe well-being in Money:

• It’s being engaged in your finances.
• It’s feeling empowered financially in your life.
• It’s having a good relationship with money and viewing it as a positive resource in your life that supports your life goals.
• It’s taking ownership of your financial well-being and that of your loved ones dependent on you and taking the steps necessary to ensure it, now and in the future.

Finally, reviewing those elements, how would you assess where you are in each?

How well do you engage in your finances? How empowered do you feel in your life financially? How well do you take ownership of your financial well-being and that of those depending on you and take the steps to ensure that well-being, now and in the future?

What’s Your Problem Child?

So, where would you like to feel a greater sense of well-being? When it comes to your inner self, your physical self, and your financial life, do you have a problem child, and if so, what is it?

Do you struggle with fear, self-doubt, past hurt, or what I call not-enoughness – not feeling good enough or that we have enough of what we feel we should have (e.g., looks, smarts, experience, etc.)?

Do you feel not as good as you would like to in your physical skin, which then impacts not just how you feel physically but also how you feel mentally or emotionally or even impacts you financially?

Do you deal with financial stress or uncertainty, which can be not only limiting – because money impacts almost every facet of our life – but can impact your psychological and physical well-being?

How well do your resources in your inner self, physical self, and financial life support you and what you want to feel and have in your life?

The Question to Ask Yourself

As part of our weekly journey together, we will work to build these inner, physical, and financial resources so that you feel more able to choose and do what supports how you want to feel and live. We will also work on getting very specific about the change you want to feel and see in your life and developing a plan to get there.

The goal is to help you achieve how you want to feel and how you want to live so that when you go back over the areas of your life, they are meeting or getting closer to the condition or requirement you have for it – your definition of fulfillment for yourself.

For now, though, ask yourself:

Do I feel able to create what I want in my life? And if not, why not?

Take the Quiz

Want to find out how your Personal Power rates? Take the Personal Power Quiz now. 

TAKE ACTION:

1. Do you feel able to create what you want to feel and have in your life? Why or why not? If you do not feel able to create what you want, what most influences that feeling?
2. Where in your life do you feel more or less empowered, and how is that impacted by how you feel when it comes to your well-being in SELF, BODY & MONEY. (Take the Personal Power Quiz to assess each area and how you rate yourself.)
3. Reviewing the key elements I mentioned above for each area of well-being, which area is most important for you to start addressing—SELF, BODY, or MONEY—and why? What will it give you or allow you to feel that you don’t have or feel today?
4. If you do already feel empowered in your life, what most supports that feeling, and is there anything you would like to adjust or do more to reinforce that feeling?

References:

1: Definition of fulfillment, from Oxford Lanagues. Retrieved February 26, 2024 from https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=1afa8f061832541a&rlz=1C5CHFA_enMX817MX817&sxsrf=ACQVn09fMjc37B6Kg631sipnyLOyeIkLrA:1708952891141&q=fulfillment&si=AKbGX_okpkrXRdHQwZu4Fe0iRe3u9mEbYi5rAHON2nPt4STLRbh8vpZjn9E8gc2NXG5EMzZFSzn92nxLs6PNXtxez6Ev_PvRDtKuXPAfN65CIhStv_24TqI%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwikjI7QicmEAxWXMVkFHTTlDmoQ2v4IegQIHRAX&biw=1306&bih=636&dpr=2.2

2: Brown, Gregory Scott MD (2023, May 19). Happiness is fleeting. Aim for fulfillment. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/05/19/fulfilled-life-happiness-strategies/

IMPORTANT: The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified professional with any questions you may have regarding the topics discussed here as the topics discussed are based on general principles and may not be applicable to every individual.