Reclaim Your Power: 15 Opportunities To Empower Yourself Now

We live in a world that is constantly challenging our strength, endurance, and autonomy. It’s crucial to have a toolkit of empowering strategies at that you can pull from whenever you need them. Regardless of if you’re facing personal struggles, professional hurdles, or societal pressures on the journey of healing and finding your purpose, these powerful techniques will help you regain control, build resilience, and find the inner strength to thrive. Let’s explore how you can reclaim your power to empower yourself now and create the life you deserve.

Embrace Self-Awareness

The first step on the journey to empowerment begins with self-awareness. Take time to reflect on your values, strengths, and areas for growth. Keep a journal to track your thoughts and emotions, identifying patterns that may be holding you back. By understanding yourself better, you’ll be able to make decisions that best align with your true self and values.

Practice: Set aside 10 minutes each day for self-reflection. Ask yourself:

• “What did I learn about myself today?”
• “How did my actions align with my values?”

Cultivate a Growth Mindset

Adopting a growth mindset is crucial for personal development and resilience. Instead of viewing challenges as insurmountable obstacles, re-envision them as opportunities for learning and growth. Instead of “I can’t do this” reframe as “I can’t do this…yet!”

Practice: When faced with a difficulty, ask yourself:

• “What can I learn from this situation?”
• “How can I use this experience to become stronger?”

Set Boundaries and Learn to Say No

So many of us struggle with setting boundaries, often prioritizing others’ needs over our own. Learning to say “no” and establishing healthy boundaries is essential for maintaining your mental health and personal power.

Practice: Start small by declining one non-essential request this week. Remember, “No” is a complete sentence.

Build a Supportive Network

Surround yourself with a community that uplifts and inspires you. Seek out mentors, join women’s groups, or create a circle of trusted friends who support your goals and growth.

Practice: Reach out to one trusted person in your network this week for a coffee date or virtual chat. Share your goals and ask for their support and if they could be an accountability partner.

Prioritize Self-Care

Self-care isn’t selfish; it’s necessary routine for maintaining your spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Make time for activities that replenish your energy and bring you joy.

Practice: Create a self-care routine that includes at least one activity for your body, mind, and spirit each day. If this is a new process for you, start with one aspect of your being in which to incorporate these changes. Continue integrating the other aspects. Keep sustainability in mind; self-care needs to be an ongoing practice!

Develop Financial Literacy

Financial independence is a crucial aspect of empowerment. Many of us allow the other party in the relationship to take care of everything dealing with the finances. Math is not my ministry, so I’m one of them! Whatever your status or situation, knowing what your financial status is and where money is coming from/going to is vitally important to empowering yourself. Engage in education around things like personal finances, investing, and long-term financial planning.

Practice: Set a financial goal for the next six months and create a plan to achieve it. Consider taking an online course on personal finance or reading a book on investing. A colleague of mine runs an investing group called The Stocks & Stilettos Society (Black woman owned and led.) You can join the community here or purchase her newly released book, Fearless Finances: A Timeless Guide to Building Wealth, here.

Embrace Your Authentic Voice

Many of us struggle with speaking up or sharing our opinions. Especially for survivors, there is a lot of fear of judgment, dismissal, or conflict. Practice using your authentic voice, even when it feels uncomfortable. In my own journey, I had to learn how to communicate in a way that felt safe for me and others. My trauma makes me go from 0 to 100 when I feel like I’m not being heard and I struggle with effective communication with my husband more often than I’d like to admit. A book that really helped me is called Seasoning Your Words by Nancy Eichmann.

Practice: In your next meeting or social gathering, challenge yourself to share at least one idea or opinion.

Cultivate Resilience Through Mindfulness

Mindfulness practices can help you stay grounded and resilient in the face of stress and challenges. Regular meditation or mindfulness exercises can improve your emotional regulation and overall well-being.

Practice: Start with a 5-minute daily meditation practice, focusing on your breath and observing your thoughts without judgment. Breathing techniques are a proven way to calm anxiety and give you time to reframe negative thoughts and emotions.

Challenge Limiting Beliefs

Identify and challenge the limiting beliefs that hold you back. What is a limiting belief? That tiny little voice or negativity from someone in your world that tells you that you are incapable, insufficient, or inefficient. These messages society, family, or past experiences become internalized and do their best to keep you afraid, stuck, and stagnant.

Practice: When you catch yourself thinking a limiting thought, ask:

• “But is this really true?”
• “What evidence do I have to support or refute this belief?”

Celebrate Your Achievements

We too often downplay our accomplishments or attribute our success to luck. We get caught up in the cycle of comparison to others around us who are “doing better.” The truth is that we don’t really know what others had to sacrifice to get to where they are. We have to learn to acknowledge and celebrate our own achievements, no matter how small they may seem to us or to others.

Practice: At the end of each week, write down three things you’re proud of accomplishing, no matter how minor they may seem.

Develop a Growth-Oriented Routine

Create daily habits that support your personal and professional growth. This might include reading, skill-building activities, or working towards a personal goal.

Practice: Dedicate 30 minutes each day to a growth-oriented activity, such as reading a chapter of a book, practicing a new skill, or working on a personal project.

Embrace Failure as a Learning Opportunity

Reorient your perspective on failure. Instead of seeing it as a setback, process it as a valuable learning experience and a stepping stone to success.

Practice: The next time you face a setback, write down three lessons you learned from the experience. Address the negative and counter it with how you can apply the lessons learned as you’re moving forward.

Develop Assertiveness Skills

Being assertive means expressing your needs, opinions, and feelings clearly and respectfully. This skill is crucial for maintaining healthy relationships and advocating for yourself. One of the hardest things for us to do is to establish healthy boundaries. We all have different levels and degrees of triggers that we carry; being assertive about the things that make us feel unsafe, allowing us to set boundaries, is mandatory to the healing and empowering process.

Practice: Use “I” statements to express your feelings and needs, such as “I feel… when… because…” Practice this in low-stakes situations with safe community to build your confidence.

Cultivate Body Positivity

Many of us struggle with body image issues. Personally, the constant inner criticism of the things I don’t like about my body open my heart to non-stop comparison with others. With age, unhealthy habits, and medical complications, it’s difficult for me to not covet another’s healthy physique. Learning to cultivate a positive relationship with your body can significantly boost your self-esteem and overall well-being, helping you to heal.

Practice: Each day, look in the mirror and give yourself three genuine compliments about your body that aren’t related to appearance, like:

• “My legs are strong and carry me through my day.”
• “My arms are long and gangly but they give the best hugs!”
• “My eyes can see and focus in on the goodness around me!”

Embrace Continuous Learning

Commit to lifelong learning. Acquiring new knowledge and skills not only enhances your capabilities but also boosts your confidence and opens up new opportunities.

Practice: Set a goal to learn one new thing each month, whether it’s a new language, a professional skill, or a hobby.

There are many opportunities that will empower you to reclaim your power!

Implementing these strategies takes time and practice, but the rewards are immeasurable. As you work on reclaiming your power, remember that progress, not perfection, is the goal. Celebrate each step forward, no matter how small it may seem!

Remember and affirm that you have the strength within you to overcome challenges, achieve your goals, and create the life you desire. By consistently applying these empowering strategies, you’ll build resilience, boost your confidence, and unlock your full potential.

As you embark on this journey of empowerment, be patient and kind to yourself. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but with persistence and self-compassion, you can transform your life and inspire others around you. You have the power within you – it’s time to reclaim it and shine your light on the world!