EMPOWERMENT - You are the change you are waiting for
Written by: Sara Dewèrn (to the left) and Lotta Domonkos (to the right).
The purpose of this article, as well as with the upcoming webinar, is to provide you with insights into what you already have more control over than you think, along with ways to quickly and easily tap into that power.
“All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.” -Swami Vivekananda
While courage often refers to action, empowerment is more of an underlying feeling. The term “empowerment” in this context, refers to the process of self-empowerment; that which enables one to overcome one’s sense of powerlessness and lack of influence to instead recognize and use one’s already available resources.
How often do you feel empowered in your everyday life and what are the consequences and results of that; short-term and long-term?
The last two years have brought about some major challenges which confronted many of us with situations where changes were either forced upon us or where unexpected circumstances led us to quickly adapt. When we thought things were going back to “normal” after the peak of the covid pandemic, another crisis occurred; that of the war in Ukraine.
When confronted with larger challenges that impact society as a whole, like the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, global warming, or a pandemic, it’s common to think; “What I do matters little, I might just as well hand over the task at hand to others with big platforms, CEOs of big companies or politicians. Me trying to do something will probably never make a difference anyway.”
Experiencing that one is at the “effect” of external events leaves one feeling powerless. When we interpret that we don’t have a possibility of influencing the way things are, it is perfectly natural if that might cause us to become passive and avoid taking action. This is a normal response that also serves a purpose. The question is; To what extent are you being passive because it’s serving you, and to what extent because of habit or fear?
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” - Reinhold Niebuhr
Accepting change
There’s a principle that says “the only constant is change”. When we think of things returning “to normal”, we are equating familiarity with safety.
Familiarity is seen as safety by the mind because it gives the mind a sense of control. Regardless of whether the mind likes it or not, the future is, and always will, remain uncertain. Any attempts of controlling the uncontrollable are futile and will only cause us unnecessary stress and suffering. That DOES NOT mean that we ARE NOT safe or that we are lacking all forms of control when circumstances aren’t “normal” or familiar.
How can you personally come to accept that a certain amount of uncertainty is a natural part of life?
What we can control is how we interpret and manage our inner experience of what happens as well as consciously choosing how we would like to act based on that. The willingness to accept this fact, along with assuming one’s full responsibility for what we can control, is the same as accepting empowerment.
In concrete terms, that looks like assuming responsibility for:
how we treat ourselves and others
what intentions we set
what we choose to align our behaviors after, e.g. our core values, etc.
defining our inner and outer boundaries and how we choose to uphold them
how we incorporate what we’ve learned from our mistakes
doing our utmost best to become more conscious
The challenges will be different for everyone depending on our past experiences, triggers, and level of consciousness. The goal is not to be a perfect human being that never has a negative inner experience or makes a mistake, but to do one’s best to manage what’s in one’s power and in that way; positively contribute to the world.
“Change yourself and you have done your part in changing the world” - Paramahansa Yogananda
The road to empowerment
Oftentimes, the things we can control might be the very things that we don’t want to assume responsibility for, as it can be emotionally difficult, require a lot of work and therefore it can be easier to blame outside circumstances for our actions or lack thereof. Furthermore, we all have blind spots…
To step into your power you have to become aware of the many ways in which you currently are disempowering yourself through your thoughts, feelings, and actions and then decide to stop doing that. The only one that can do that is YOU.
You need to decide to accept empowerment from the inside, it can’t be given from the outside. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean that you have to do it alone.
Accepting empowerment is about assuming leadership; your own self-leadership. It's about coming to perceive yourself as an important co-creator and uncovering your inherent knowledge that you can and will make a difference by being who you are and contributing in your way.
Looking at the big picture, the shift regarding the OUTER blocks, like beating global warming or not accepting oppression, is going to occur once there is a critical mass that’s empowered enough to take small everyday steps to contribute to a more conscious society. That requires us to first overcome our inner blocks so that we are conscious enough to take the right actions.
Change happens from the inside. Start today. We are here to help you empower yourself.
You are the change you’re waiting for.
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At our upcoming WEBINAR, we will share concrete tools you can start using to access your innate power. We will also share our personal experiences of accepting empowerment as well as draw parallels to examples of empowerment on a global scale.
More information will be released soon. If you have any questions, requests, or input - we look forward to hearing from you!
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Sara Dewèrn is a coach who helps high achievers reduce stress and lead with authenticity. Sara has a Master’s in Economics with 10 + years of experience in finance, working with some of the largest companies in Sweden. After experiencing burnout she discovered all the ways she had been disempowering herself without realizing it. That made her committed to helping others empower themselves to lead a life inspired by authenticity.
Lotta Domonkos is the founder of Leonora, a slow fashion platform that just launched the change-maker collection. A sustainable, exclusive, and interactive concept. Sustainably sourced and produced in a micro-production in Sweden. Produced on-demand and individually adjusted to the customer's choice of product, size, color, or color combination.
It’s called the change-maker collection because it’s a concrete example of the change we want to see. Lotta has a solid background in tech and recently founded the business forum “Let’s Empower”, based in Stockholm. Her passion is continuous learning and inner development as a key for outer change.