Empowered to Withstand

Empowered to Withstand

By Michelle Matthias

As a Professional Personal Development and Life Coach, I like to identify myself as an Empowerment Coach.

Why empowerment? Empowerment is defined as “the process of becoming stronger and more confident. Yes, Empowerment can have many different meanings to different people—depending on their experiences, circumstances, hopes, and dreams.

Having been challenged by 2020, we realized that we all needed to find ways to support ourselves in staying focused, positive, and steadfast. We all needed to be empowered and or to stay empowered.

As we enter the New Year, still in the grips of the pandemic, it’s important that we remain determined and vigilant with fostering a healthy psychological outlook. It is said that having psychological flexibility is an incredibly important element that is beneficial not only for us to survive but for us to thrive.

Referencing a blog from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, it explains:

“A psychologically flexible person is characterised by a set of attitudes and skills: they are generally open to and accepting of experiences, whether they are good or bad; they try to be mindfully aware of the present moment; they experience difficult thoughts without ruminating on them; they seek to maintain a broader perspective when faced with a challenge; they continue to pursue important goals despite setbacks; and they maintain contact with “deeper values,” no matter how stressful a day might be…”

Psychological flexibility allows us to bend without breaking. With the help of God, we can withstand.

How do we Empower ourselves and maintain psychological flexibility? Some possible ideas are:

• Find your passion…it motivates and fulfills
• Don’t wait around…Take action and be creative…empowered people don’t wait for it to happen, they make it happen
• Kindness. …kindness transcends…be consciously kinder to others and yourself
• Tidy up. …uncluttered environment; uncluttered mind
• Set the right kind of goals. …dream big; set realistic scalable goals
• Raise up others. …’ no man is an island’…be supportive and encouraging, it’s like a boomerang
• Let go. …let go negative thoughts…let go negative people…let go unforgiveness
• Have a self-care day….not just to rejuvenate and relax but also for a mental detox
• Take action to seize opportunities…when you encounter a problem, consider a direct solution, even if you haven’t worked out all the details…be solution-focused
• Adopt a positive flexible mindset…never underestimate the power of a positive mindset…thinking positively through all situations gives a sense of calm, peace of mind, happiness, productivity, and a feeling of self-worth. Maintaining the daily habit of being aware of what and how the mind is thinking empowers you to take responsibility for your mental state. Thinking positively helps you to confidently solve problems and face life’s daily challenges, knowing that everything will work out to your benefit. For Christians, this is unshakable faith.
• Pray, pray, pray…..prayer is empowering. It reminds us that when all is said and done we cannot do life without God who gives life. Prayer connects us to God and empowers us to be peaceful, to be hopeful, and to withstand.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28

“Wishing you a Blessed and Prosperous New Year.”