Take Back Your Power

Are you the passenger of your life or the driver? Many of us would like to say that we are the driver, but deep down inside we would know it is not true. All throughout the day we can choose to be the driver of our life, but instead we choose to be the passenger. God says that “he has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).  Yet so many of us walk around feeling powerless and living in fear. It is not because we lack power, but that we keep giving it away to events in our lives and other people. The only power any one has over us is the power we give to them. For years I felt powerless. I had been in what seems like a never ending cycle of feeling pitiful and powerless. I was allowing the opinions of others to shape my perception of myself. When negative situations or events occurred i would immediately get upset and allow the situations to mess up my entire day. When things were good i was happy and when things were bad i was unhappy. But, truth be told life is not peaches and cream. There will always be people who do not like me, people will always form negative opinions of me, and their will always be negative events and circumstances that will arrive.  It is up to me on whether or not i receive or reject the negativity.  I was tired of being on an emotional roller coaster. This year i decided i was not going to be a victim, but i wanted to overcome the obstacle of giving away my power. This year has been all about me taking back my power.  This is only the beginning!! I am slowly taking back my power. Here are a few things i have been trying to work on to reclaim my power:

1. Be proactive and not reactive.When you wake up each day choose what type of day you are going to have. The type of day you choose to have should not be centered around anyone else’s mood or actions. It  is up to you to decide to have a good day despite what happens.
2. Do not allow others to bring out the worst in you. You should act according to your own values not matter what is going on around you.
3. Watch what you are paying attention to. Whatever you put into your mind grows. If you are paying attention to negative situations negativity will grow.
4. what people do or do not do does not determine your worth. Your values do not come from anyone but yourself.
5. Forgive. When you hold unforgiveness you are giving your power away. It allows the person to hurt over and over again mentally each time you think about it.
6. Not everyone will like you or support you. Stop seeking validation, and start approving yourself.
7. Have compassion for others. Just like you have bad days and may be off your game other individuals have bad days too. Do not take everything personal.
8. Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” How are you using you power? are you using it to speak life or death into yourself, others, and situations?
9. Know what to ignore. Some things are just not even worth addressing or giving energy to.
10. Learn to say “NO” when you want to say “NO”!!! You do not have to allow people make you feel guilty when you tell them “NO”.

I challenge you today to join the journey with me and TAKE YOUR POWER BACK!!! Get out of the passenger seat and get in the drivers seat. Decide today that you are going to be in control of how you feel, think, and behave regardless of the situation you find yourself in.