Self-Empowerment: Become Part of the Solution

Valeri Bocage CEO
Powerful Women International Connections

Time for Self-Reflection

What comes to mind when you think of self-esteem and self-empowerment? Most would say feeling good about yourself, setting goals and achieving them. Do you realize that you, and only you, are writing the next chapter of your life? Every thought you have and decision you make needs to build on that!

You may have heard, “If you are not part of the solution, you must be part of the problem?” That is a misquotation of Eldridge Cleaver. The correct full quote is: “There is no more neutrality in the world. You either have to be part of the solution, or you’re going to be part of the problem.”

Motivating Goals

Are your goals congruent with being part of the solution? We know that we are constantly growing and learning, whether it be in our careers, personal life or in relationships, and it is part of self-empowerment. Pay close attention to how and where you are growing in new ways. Combine your newly acquired skills with your unique talents, create a vision and take action, so you may have a positive effect in changing today’s world.

Be part of the solution!

Examples of Self-Empowerment

Winnie lives in Uganda. She loves to sing, and her vision was to share her gift with children, making them smile and bring peace into their lives.

She effectively communicated her vision and began by singing to just one child. As Winnie’s talents and vision grew, her community also grew. Word spread, trust blossomed, and soon, a group of children was listening. As Winnie became more self-empowered in her leadership role, those around her were also empowered, and her community began to change for the better. Winnie has since created a nonprofit to expand her vision in transforming the lives of children in her community. She’s a perfect example of being part of the solution!

 

Uganda children gather to play and some together with MaMa Africa programs.

Winnie sharing her love with one of the children from her village.

Valeri’s Story

Our life purpose is to learn, grow and move forward in self-empowerment. We either learn those lessons or end up repeating the same experiences over and over. I have done this often and here’s an example:

Since I have a big heart, I felt drawn to help people experiencing difficult life circumstances. I had to learn that my intervention was not self-empowering for any of us. I learned I could listen to their experiences and guide them to find help themselves. If this was not possible and I knew I could assist them freely (and most times, quickly), I would offer a lending hand. However, I’ve learned to set my boundaries, rather than intervening to the detriment of my self-empowerment and energy.

One of my lessons is that I do not have to allow others to live with me, due to their unfortunate life circumstances. I did that twice, and after 27 months of learning, I now protect my well-being by saying “no.” However, I do inform them of places they can stay, thus, empowering them to overcome circumstances and be part of their solution. The only exception is I allow my adult children and grandchildren to stay with me if they are experiencing a life crisis. My Mom also knows I have an open-door policy for her.

I am self-empowered by saying “no” to requests that diminish my well-being. I empower others by providing guidance. Team members staying with me is highly rewarding, and always a wonderful experience!

Four Self-Empowerment Lessons

  1. Experience the joy of being authentically yourself. Only commit to things which improve your vision, talents and emotional/spiritual health. The focus on personal development provides more confidence, freedom, and peace of mind.
  2. Make your own choices and decisions. Take the time you need to recognize and do what’s best for you.
  3. Protect your well-being by having self-respect, even if it means saying “no” and hurting someone’s feelings. You will then be free from the anxiety of living up to the expectations of others.
  4. Use discipline, determination and unified resolve to accomplish your visions with self-empowerment. Remember how I said, “You are writing the next chapter of your life?” The situations described above exemplify how we learn life lessons. Our relationships with ourselves, others and their situations all help us to grow and learn. This wisdom provides empowerment to positively change lives, writing our next chapter and creating a larger impact in our World!

The focus of PWIC is to connect, educate and collaborate with women humanitarian leaders to make a positive global change in our society. We work with female leaders who are passionate about improving the status of the underprivileged and at-risk communities.

We see a better world that is safe for thriving communities.

“A clear vision communicated well attracts more people to your work and increases the likelihood of an admired brand worldwide.” ~Valeri Bocage

View Our Team Making a Difference in Our World

Lead and Be A Champion!

We invite you to join us to make a difference in the world! Take a look at what some of our other members are doing:

Join PWIC ‘Women Humanitarian Leaders Global Map to showcase how you are making a difference. Complete our World Leader’s Map (at no cost ) to showcase how you are making a difference in the world. The added benefit is to build a highly admired personal and company brand.

Some of our Humanitarian Member Projects include:
•Burn Survivors
•Human Trafficking
•Reducing Recidivism
•Children at Risk
•Empowering Developing Countries
•Homelessness

Together we can create a better world.

Today’s post was edited by Marion Bieber

We Invite You!

Join us in our efforts to make the world better:
1.Become a member of Powerful Women International Connections.
2.Email us at info@pwiconnections.com
3.Mark Your Calendar to attend our Global Impact Conference November 2-3, 2017

With your help, we can expand our projects, unite more women humanitarian leaders, and help them make a bigger impact. We would love to hear from you and learn what you would like to do or are in process of doing to change lives.

NOTE: By incorporating giving and helping communities of your choice, you will experience The Smooth Sale!

P.S. Send us your business development and sales related questions to elinor@smoothsale.net

Visit Elinor’s Website:

 

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