(continued from The Story of Power)
What does personal power mean to you and how does that affect your ability to change?
Now that you have learnt a bit more about the way power is talked about in society, let’s talk about what power means for you personally.
Exercise 1:
Ask yourself: People who are powerful, are like… (list five characteristics)
then, if power was a piece of clothing, it would look like…
These questions will allow you to understand whether or not you see power as attractive or negative.
If some of your characteristics of power are negative, then it is not hard to see why you might not ‘step into’ your own power and make change.
In addition, how easy is your piece of clothing to wear? If it is easy and comfortable then power comes easily to you. If it is like a piece of armor from the medieval knight era, then it will be difficult to wear into battle.
Exercise 2:
Personalise your own power! List 5-10 things that you would like your own powerful self to have.
Lastly!
How do you increase your power? By doing things that empower you!
If personal power is the ability to move in the direction you want to go, then what do you do to empower youself?
Exercise: I power myself by…
(For example: I power myself by doing the things that I love; like painting, swimming, going outside for a walk, having fun with my friends, watching comedy etc…)
So…
You have now understood how thinking about power differently can help you make the change that you want.
You have tried different exercises that help you understand your own vision of power and create what works for you.
You have learnt how to increase your personal power and you are ready to tackle the situation!
Exercises from Find Your Power by Chris Johnstone.