Want to Learn How to be Brave? Empower Yourself

Surround yourself with people who empower you to become better

I’m back, hope everyone is doing all right during this pandemic. I know some states are slowly reopening businesses. I also know some states got their stay-at-home orders extended. Just hang in there; we will all get through this and my hope is that we will all learn something that will help us all be a better person having gone through this.

Anyway, have you had trouble trying to summon the courage to do or say something to someone? Have you felt powerless against overwhelming odds? Have you felt weak mentally? Did unwanted anxiety and unnecessary stress bring you down? If you said yes to any of these questions, read further. At some point in our lives, we get knocked down and we feel weak, hey maybe even powerless. There are some things or people we encounter that scare us or make us feel intimidated. Don’t let those things stop you in your tracks. Your not alone, I, my friends, family, and so many others have felt this way.

Feeling Scared

Fear is another emotion that we have all felt at some point in our lives. We felt it when we wanted to ask our crush out on a date. We felt it when we had to give a presentation in front of class or our co-workers. Hey we even felt it when proposed to the love of our life. There are so many things that could happen where we experience fear. It can hinder our growth to where we get stuck in a rut. It can make us miss opportunities that could enrich our lives.

Feeling Powerless

Fear is one thing, feeling powerless is different. I’m sure at one point you felt weak and a list of things you had to do for the day or week just seem overwhelming and impossible to do. Been there done that myself. Some of us are running off of very little energy and running on fumes. There are people out there who make us feel powerless to stand up to. We don’t have the motivation to do anything, even things that we enjoy.

With all that said, if you are struggling to deal with your fears and empower yourself, here are some ways you can start to make changes in your life where you feel empowered and braver:

Positive Self-Talk

Negative self-talk is one of the things that makes us feel fatigue and scared about various things in our life. It saps away our energy. So instead of saying ‘I can’t do this, I will fail’, try saying ‘I have the ability to do this and I will succeed’. Words of encouragement can help to change your mood as well as your mindset. This can take some time before it can become a habit. Be patient with yourself and keep trying. Positive affirmations goes a long way in helping you to feel better. If you have to repeat them on a daily basis then so be it; if it’s helping you, keep doing that.

Controlled Fear

At one point, we get the idea in our head that if we eliminate our fear we will be brave. Actually courage comes from not the absence of fear, but fear controlled. Being able to take action in the presence of fear is what counts. The fear isn’t gone it’s still there, but your not allowing it to dictate your actions or words. Your keeping it in check. Your taking control of your life.

Have Hope

If you’re going into something and you’re afraid it won’t work out, don’t give up hope. If your struggling, believe that something good is going to happen. Most things you want in life will require effort and motivation. You’ll have to work for it and fight for it, but don’t loss hope. The tiniest bit of hope can shine through and come to be. I speak from experience.

Build Up Self-Appreciation

You have to appreciate who you are because there is only one of you in this world. Appreciate your flaws, your goofiness, being able to see the best in everyone, trying to understand other people’s viewpoints, your ability to make the best out of any situation, etc. Once you start appreciating who you are, you then begin to feel a sense of power that helps you to do things you didn’t think you could do or things that were once hard are now easy to you.

Here is short video that talks about empowering yourself with motivation and inspiration. When it comes to empowering oneself, I always found that using ‘I’ statements to be really helpful. This video shows what I call positive ‘I’ statements.

Wrap Up

I’ve mentioned it before, you’re not perfect and that’s fine. No one is perfect. Be kind to others as well as yourself. A good posture also helps build confidence. A firm handshake, letting go of unnecessary baggage, a great support system of friends and family all help you feel more empowered. Like I said, the fear is always going to be there but the more empowered you feel, the more you’re able to keep the fear in check and rise above it. Don’t be afraid to say no to things if you believe they’re going to take away your inner peace. Speak with a conviction; it shows confidence and how sure you are of yourself. Next time you are faced with something that is scaring you, think about your history with past fears. You got over them and were they as scary as you thought they were?