20 Frequently Asked Questions: Self-Empowerment
For more in depth, detailed information, visit our ebooks page hosting our eBook: "Empower Yourself" (Live your best healthy, balanced life).
1. What Is Self-Empowerment?
Self-empowerment is the ability to make positive decisions and actions based on what you want to achieve. It is your ability to take control of your life. While self-empowerment is closely linked and related to self-esteem and self-confidence, it goes far beyond that. Self-empowerment encompasses not only thoughts and intentions but turns them into actual actions.
Self-empowerment should not be confused with self-entitlement. Those with a strong sense of self-entitlement believe they should be given privileges and benefits automatically.
The opposite is true of those with a high sense of self-empowerment. They believe they achieve their privileges, benefits, and success through their own personal hard work. They are not of the opinion that anything should be just given to them.
Self-empowerment looks and feels different for everyone. One person’s self-empowerment experience can look very different from the next. Below are common signs of self-empowerment.
Having a positive attitude
Setting reasonable goals
Circle of positive people
Practicing self-care
Being assertive
Using action or to-do lists
Having a strong sense of self-empowerment allows you to achieve a great many things. You are able to develop your skills, make powerful decisions, achieve and reach past your goals, have a strong sense of confidence, and help to empower others.
2. Why Is Self-Empowerment Important?
Self-empowerment is extremely important as it gives you an opportunity to take control of your actions and behaviors. Thus allowing you to control your life. Self-empowerment gives you the opportunity to write your own story instead of having someone else write it for you. Self-empowerment is important to your health, relationships, and success.
Health: We live in a very fast world. Health should be at the forefront of our minds as we need to stay in good physical and mental health to operate at our highest productivity. Self-empowerment motivates us to meditate, exercise, and strive to be the best version of ourselves.
Relationships: A self-empowered person has a good grasp on their emotional wellbeing. They are able to control their emotions by showing and using them as needed. This helps build relationships with friends, family, and coworkers as a self-empowered person are stable and able to connect with others.
Success: A self-empowered person has a sense of self-confidence. This boosts their efficiency, productivity, and effort. As such, they can take the steps necessary to achieve their goals.
3. What Are The Hallmarks Of Self-Empowerment?
Self-empowerment is the driving force behind achieving one’s goals. It leads to a path of success by taking accountability and control of your behaviors and actions. It allows one to recognize their strengths and weaknesses.
Negative, awful, and horrible things happen to everyone. Self-empowerment allows one to see beyond the issues at hand and work to move past them. While everyone experiences self-empowerment differently there are some key hallmarks of this trait. These Hallmarks are listed below:
Action: Self-empowered people take deliberate action. They understand that positive movement forward cannot happen without conscious effort.
Priorities: Self-empowered people make to-do lists to a whole other level. They recognize that while it is important to know what needs to be done, it is more important to recognize what needs to be done now, in the next hour, later today, then next week, and next month. They work in order of priority.
Integrity: Self-empowered people have strong moral principles and are honest. This is who they are at the core and they act no different in the public eye or behind closed doors.
Relentless: Self-empowered people have a no-nonsense attitude. They do not give up on themselves or their dreams. They are always looking to push forward regardless of the obstacles in their way.
4. What Are The Benefits Of Being Self-Empowered?
Self-empowerment provides a host of benefits. Below are some of the biggest benefits:
a. Knowing Yourself: A self-empowered person takes the time to know and understand their strengths and weaknesses. They learn their triggers, their emotions, and how to fully control them. This allows them to build confidence in themselves and move forward instead of retreating in various situations.
b. Strong Relationships: A self-empowered person has the ability to build stronger connections with others. They are adept at sharing their wants and needs and listening to the wants and needs of others.
c. Career Satisfaction: A self-empowered person has the ability to excel in their career. They build the skills necessary to succeed at their current level and put effort into going above and beyond to move up to the next level. They are proud of their work and know they can get to their goal with hard work and determination.
d. Healthy Mind, Body, and Spirit: A self-empowered person has the ability to maintain a positive and healthy lifestyle for themselves. Self-empowered people know that success takes time and effort. They understand that in order to succeed they need to maintain a strong inner and outer body. They take the necessary steps to engage in self-care.
5. What Are Some Examples Of Self-Empowerment?
Self-empowerment comes in all shapes and sizes. Different people experience self-empowerment in different ways. Below are a few examples of self-empowerment.
Saying No: Saying no can be very difficult. Sometimes we take on more responsibilities than we can handle because we are afraid to say no. Learning to say no is a great example of self-empowerment. Whether it is saying no to your child, your spouse, a friend, or a coworker, saying no sets boundaries and allows you to stay focused on your end goal.
Saying Yes: Saying yes can be scary. Sometimes we do not have the courage or willpower to easily say yes. Learning to say yes is also an example of self-empowerment. Whether it is saying yes to yourself in purchasing a new outfit, to your boss in accepting a new position or responsibility, or to a friend in agreeing to help with planning a party, saying yes allows you to control where your time and effort will be spent.
Learning a New Skill: Getting out of your comfort zone is no easy task. It can be downright paralyzing. Deciding to learn a new skill or take a new course is another example of self-empowerment. You’re giving yourself the opportunity to build upon and improve yourself.
6. What Are Some Characteristics Of The Self-Empowered Person?
While self-empowerment looks different for everyone, there are some characteristics that many self-empowered people have in common. These characteristics are listed below:
Awareness: A self-empowered person knows themselves and is completely aware of their thoughts, feelings, actions, and behaviors
Control: A self-empowered person takes their awareness to another level by being in control of their thoughts, feelings, actions, and behaviors. This prevents them from saying or doing things they will later regret.
Acceptance: A self-empowered person has a true appreciation for who they are. This is not diminished by setbacks towards their goal. They have an understanding and are content with who they are at their core.
Confidence: A self-empowered person has an overall solid sense of self. They have a strong belief in their abilities. They trust themselves and go out beyond their comfort zones.
Respect: A Self-empowered person has respect for themselves and others. They have a set of standards that reflect how they want to be treated and they will not accept less.
Accountability: A self-empowered person accepts responsibility for their thoughts, actions, and behaviors. They do not shy away from the repercussions of their actions. If they make a mistake, they admit it. They do not cast blame outside but look inward at themselves.
7. What Prevents One From Being Self-Empowered?
Having a strong sense of self-empowerment is no easy task. There are a number of obstacles that prevent someone from being self-empowered. Some examples are listed below:
Fear of Losing Position: Having self-empowerment is having control and power. This can be a scary idea, especially in the workplace. Developing self-empowerment will create confidence, respect, and communication that may be outside someone’s normal character. As such, this can be concerning to employees as they fear their coworkers or supervisors may not like the change.
Laziness: Being self-empowered takes a lot of time, effort, and energy. It is not something that develops overnight or with the flip of a switch. It takes conscious and constant effort over a period of time. It can at times seem easier to not try something at all than to put effort into trying something and it does not immediately work.
Lack of Goals: Being self-empowered is not possible without clear and concise goals. If someone has nonspecific or general goals, they are going to be unable to develop a sense of self-empowerment as they have nothing to work towards.
8. What Are The Drawbacks Of Not Developing Self-Empowerment?
Having self-empowerment is very important. There are definite drawbacks to not having a strong sense of empowerment. Some of these drawbacks are listed below:
Lack of Control: The first drawback to not developing self-empowerment is a lack of control over your life. Those with low or no self-empowerment rely on others to make decisions for them. They do not have the will or desire to make their own choices and thus have no control over what their life will bring.
Low Motivation: The second drawback to not developing self-empowerment is low motivation. Wasting time, effort, and resources promotes an unfulfilled life that has no productivity. This leads to a meaningless journey of sadness and loneliness.
Limited Growth: The third drawback to not developing self-empowerment is having limited growth. Without a passionate internal drive, you will be unable to learn new skills, develop new habits, and will not be able to move push moments of uncomfortably. This is the equivalent of being stuck in time never moving forward.
Little to No Quality Relationships: The fourth drawback to not developing self-empowerment is having little to no quality relationships. Without having confidence in yourself, knowing who you are, and being in control of your feelings, thoughts, and emotions, you will never be able to connect with others or form meaningful relationships.
9. What Is The Opposite Of Self-Empowerment?
There are a great many opposites of self-empowerment. Some of the biggest are listed below:
Diffidence: This is the quality or state of lacking confidence or assertiveness
Self-Doubt: This is a lack of confidence in oneself and one's abilities.
Insecurity: This is the uncertainty or anxiety about oneself; lack of confidence
Self-Distrust: This is a lack of confidence in oneself
The opposite of self-empowerment is not knowing and accepting yourself. It is the choice to allow yourself to be controlled by others. It is allowing yourself no power or rights over the path of your life.
The opposite of self-empowerment is not holding yourself accountable and relying on others for everything you need. It is living in fear, doubt, and low self-worth.
10. Can Self-Empowerment Be Developed?
Self- Empowerment is a powerful and important quality to have. However, it does not come naturally to many people. While some people seem to be born with a strong sense of self-empowerment, others must work hard and practice to develop it.
With hard work, determination, practice, and effort, self-empowerment can be developed. You must be willing to step outside your comfort zone, try new things, and not be afraid to look inward at yourself.
11. What Are Some Steps I Can Take To Become More Self-Empowered?
There are a number of steps you can take to become more self-empowered. Some of the key steps are listed below:
Positive Attitude: It is important to have a positive attitude when trying to become more self-empowered. Unlike negativity, positivity will help propel you forward. It will be a catalyst in keeping your thoughts, emotions, feelings, and actions in check.
Set Reasonable Goals: It is important to set reasonable or realistic goals when trying to become more self-empowered. In order to achieve empowerment, you must have a strong desire to complete a goal or task that you set for yourself. Without a goal, you have nothing to move towards and no drive for accomplishment.
Practice Self-Care: It is important to practice self-care in order to become self-empowered. Self-care includes anything you do to make yourself happy and/or healthy. This can include how you eat, sleep, and exercise.
Set Positive intentions: When you set positive intentions to reach a future goal in terms of time and achievement, you will become empowered to succeed.
It can also include setting aside a specific amount of time to focus on activities that make you happy. You need to enjoy your life and the journey it takes you on.
12. Is Confidence The Same As Self-Empowerment?
While confidence and self-empowerment are closely linked, they are not the same things.
Confidence: The feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.
Empowerment: The authority or power given to someone to do something.
Self-Empowerment: Taking control of one’s life
Confidence breeds a strong sense of self and internal accountability. To have self-empowerment, one needs to have confidence. In order to dictate the direction of your life and the path you take, you must learn to trust yourself. Which is what confidence means.
You must take that a step further with self-empowerment. By not only trusting yourself internally but making decisions, actions, and behaviors, because of that trust.
13. Can People Pleasers Become Self-Empowered?
There is nothing wrong with wanting to help others. Helping others is a magnificent quality that more people should look to possess. There is a stark difference between helping people and being a people pleaser.
Helping is defined as, “ to give assistance or support to (someone): to provide (someone) with something that is useful or necessary in achieving an end.”
A people pleaser is defined as, “a person who has an emotional need to please others often at the expense of his or her own needs or desires”.
While you can be self-empowered and have a passion for helping people, you are not able to be self-empowered and be a people pleaser. People-pleasing goes beyond gestures of sincerity and generosity. It evokes an emotional desire to put other people’s wants, needs, and well-being above your own. Many times, people pleasers help others at the detriment of their own mental health, finances, and other resources.
The very core of self-empowerment is making your own choices for your life. You are unable to do this if you allow yourself to be ruled or controlled by others. Which is at the very root of being a people pleaser.
14. Is Self-Empowerment The Same As Ambition?
Self-empowerment and ambition are not the same things. Ambition is defined as, “an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power” While self-empowered people may also be ambitious, they do not always go hand in hand.
An example of this:
Cindy works at a news station as a producer for the 8 am program. She has worked there for many years, has a college degree in broadcasting, and has been instrumental in the spike in positive ratings over the last 8 years. A position for an on-air newscaster becomes available and Cindy's supervisor offers her the role.
Cindy thanks her supervisor for his consideration but politely declines. Her supervisor urges her to reconsider as on-air newscasters make more compensation and her widely known. Cindy again declines and explains that she loves her current position being behind the scenes. She states that being in front of the camera, being known to people on the street or in the grocery store and having to attend public-wide events would diminish her enjoyment of work.
Cindy has a strong sense of self-empowerment as she turns down a promotion that she doesn’t want, speaks her mind, and stands her ground. Cindy is not ambitious as she does not want power, fame, or fortune.
15. What Are Some Self-Empowered Statements One Can Say?
In order to build self-empowerment, you must practice practice practice. Below are some self-empowerment statements that you can say to boost your empowerment:
“Do not let another day go by where your dedication to other people's opinions is greater than your dedication to your own emotions!” Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
“Only you can take inner freedom away from yourself or give it to yourself. Nobody else can.” Michael A. Singer, The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
“Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can” -Martha Graham
I am strong and I will dictate my own path
My life is my own and I will write the chapters in it
16. What Challenges Exist In Achieving Self-Empowerment?
Self-Empowerment is no easy task. You are not able to wake up one day and say, “I am now self-empowered” and have a challenge-free life. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work that way.
Below are some of the most common challenges with achieving self-empowerment:
Fear: Many times we create our own fears. These are also the hardest ones to break. We are fearful we focus on the “what if’s” too much. We allow ourselves to be consumed by negativity. Fear is a tough challenge to face but must be done in order to achieve self-empowerment.
Impatience: Our society is based on instant gratification. As a species, we are less inclined to wait for our success or achievement. We want everything to happen as quickly as possible. This is not always possible and is not always the best course of action. Think of the Greeks when they attacked Troy. After initially being defeated, they were patient and created the great Trojan horse. This display of patience is what ultimately led to their victory. Without patience, you cannot have self-empowerment.
Overwhelmed: Society is also always on the move. At home, we need to be always cleaning, organizing, or preparing. At work, we need to be constantly taking on new projects with a goal of nonstop completion. In between, we should be going to stores, reaching To be out to friends, and visiting family.
We’re basically programmed to be moving and involved in something every second of the day. What the world should be engraining in our minds is being productive instead of just nonstop busy. Set an intention to be productive.
To be self-empowered you must make your action meaningful and productive. Each should serve a direct purpose instead of simply checking an item off a to-do list.
17. What Is Required To Boost Self-Empowerment?
In order to boost self-empowerment, the following is required but certainly not limited to:
Look in the Mirror: You must learn to fully accept yourself. Seek to understand your strengths and weaknesses. Know that you are not perfect and that you are able to achieve whatever it is that you desire.
Daily Affirmations: Learn to recite daily affirmations. The best time is first thing in the morning as you begin your day. You can also set up mini reminders throughout the day. Change the background on your phone or computer to a positive quote or leave your favorite quote taped to a notebook you use throughout the day.
Set Goals: Set goals that you are able to work towards. This will help keep you motivated and will keep driving you onward
Try Something New: You must try new things. This allows you to move beyond your comfort zone to learn and grow.
18. How Is Self-Efficacy Connected To Self-Empowerment?
Self-empowerment is closely connected to self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is defined as, “people's beliefs in their capabilities to exercise control over their own functioning and over events that affect their lives.
One's sense of self-efficacy can provide the foundation for motivation, well-being, and personal accomplishment.”
Self-efficacy is a fundamental part of having a strong sense of self-empowerment. It gives the foundation for your actions and behaviors. Without a belief in your abilities, you would not be able to act on them.
19. What Are Some Self-Empowering Actions I Can Take In My Life?
Self-empowerment is nothing without action. Learn to take the below self-empowerment actions in your life:
Find purpose
Decide what you want
Take action
Take responsibility
Empower others
20. Is Courage Required To Become Self-Empowered?
Courage is necessary to become self-empowered. Courage is defined as, “the ability to do something that frightens one.” Courage is often thought of as grand and dangerous gestures. Courage can be seen as running into traffic to save a child or jumping down a cliff to rescue a climber.
While these are examples of courage, courage can also be seen in our day-to-day lives. Stepping out of your comfort zone to register for a new class or try a new activity is courageous. Learning to stand up for yourself is courageous.
Taking complete control of your life is courageous. These are the ways you must possess courage in order to become self-empowered. For more in depth, detailed information, visit our ebooks page hosting our eBook: "Empower Yourself" (Live your best healthy, balanced life).
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