Whether you believe it or not: We all have personal powers that make us powerful beyond our means. You may not have the physical strength like Superman or the genius of Einstein, but you do have the power to think, believe, feel, act and say whatever you want.
Victor Frankl described in his book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ that people could not take away his choice over his attitude and the meanings he gives to the events of his life. He was a prisoner in a concentration camp during World War II, definitely a more challenging environment for such finds where he observed the psychological effects of being a prisoner.
I have the last word on what I think or feel!
Although most of us today don’t have to experience the hardships of being a prisoner, our current day-to-day circumstances can be enough to make us feel like prisoners. Especially if you allow them to do just that.
Freedom in the harvest of your personal powers
We all have four personal powers: The power of emotions, thoughts, speech, and actions or behavior. And this is where Victor Frankl discovered that although you cannot change your current circumstances, no one can take away your attitude towards situations, your personal powers.
The meaning of the four powers.
Once you realize and take full responsibility for your emotions or feelings and thoughts, you realize that only you have control over them. We often hear phrases like: ‘You made me feel sad…’ which is actually not true. Without your conscious or unconscious consent, no one can make you feel anything. They can trigger something inside of you, but the cause is in YOU. If you feel it, it’s YOURS. Imagine facing a situation with your friend and both of you have a different emotional reaction: this is proof that the situation, however upsetting it may be, is not the cause of your emotional reaction, but simply the trigger.
The same applies to your speech, actions and behavior. What you say and do is your responsibility. This is what we teach children growing up from an early age: think about the consequences of your words and actions.
The place of power must be within you
Once you have truly accepted full responsibility for your four powers, the place of these powers must be within you and not with your partner, parents, bosses, friends, etc. Only then are you no longer dependent on their approval or opinions.
Remember: there is always the possibility that whatever you do or say, you may not agree with someone somewhere.
I’d like to acknowledge Dr. L. Michael Hall’s work on self-actualization, which is where I first came across the idea of ”personal powers.”