Personal development is your springboard to personal excellence. Ongoing, continuous, non-stop personal development assures you that there is no limit to what you can accomplish. ~ Brian Tracy

Self-empowerment directs and controls how we deal with or handle existing family, society and peer group expectations; external pressures or demands; how we initiate and handle environmental interactions or various human relationships. Self-empowerment “steers” how we efficiently express ourselves in this world and establish our self-worth in terms of our power.

Self-empower is at the very foundation of our life skills, which primarily deals with the “materialistic world” and which is dominated by our lower-self needs and wants.

Self-empowerment isn't something we are born with, it doesn't happen automatically, nor do we graduate. We have to consistently work on it, we have to patiently and determinedly continue with our self-empowerment quest every day… for as long as we remain on this planet, and we have to realize that self-empowerment doesn't come easy.

For us to establish and sustain self-empowerment - as sourcing from a healthy and balanced self-determination foundation - we should be consistently aware of the following…

• Deliberately avoid thinking and feeling that we are failures, because we are not! And besides, how can other people accept us for who we are, when WE cannot accept OURSELVES?
• When we see others who we envy for any particular reason (e.g. beauty, wealth, status, Self-empowerment, joy, …etc), we should return our focus to our self-empowerment, rather than self-pity for “not having” what they “have”. Because, in the end, it is merely a matter of personal interpreted perceptions.
• Important to realize is that self-acceptance doesn't imply how we fit into other people's ideas of the world, it is about accepting ourselves in the world, regardless of how we might think others could “judge” us.
• When people feel down and low about themselves, help them up. Rather than join others in feeling low or succumb to criticism (i.e. a Wild Horse attitude). Choose to help them out through leading by example. The more we radiate confidence, the more others will also feel, start to admire and absorb that confidence themselves (i.e. an Oryx attitude).
• The world and real life are our classroom. Don’t feel stupid or doomed forever, just because you have made a “mistake” or “failed” at something. Regard experiences as valuable lessons to learn from.
• Take things one step at a time. Don't expect major changes overnight. Self-empowerment is a transformation and evolving process of taking many little steps (objectives & missions), which ultimately adds up to an amazingly beautiful and profound journey (goal & vision).
• Set meaningful and achievable objectives & goals. Self-empowerment shouldn't mould us into a replica of our idols or role models. Essentially, self-empowerment is the process by which we gradually dissolve all of the false ideas we've adopted over the years, and we learn to see and appreciate ourselves for the amazing and unique individuals that we already are.
• Little things mean a lot to other people. We often don’t realize that the little things that we do, like a pat on the back, saying “Hi” or asking somebody “How are you?”; are simple things that mean so much to other people. When we are appreciative and grateful for all that is around us; it eventually reflects inwardly and we become more appreciative and grateful for who we truly are and the many experiences - the good, the not so good and the bad - on this amazing planet of ours that brought us to this specific point in space and time.
• When we’re willing to accept change and go through the process of self-empowerment In essence… to effectively deal with the many facets of future shock., it doesn’t mean that everyone else is. The world is a place where people of different values and attitudes constantly interact with one another. Sometimes, even when we think that “I and a special someone” always likes to do the same thing together at the same time, be aware that not everybody realizes and/or accepts the true value of a self-empowerment quest.

The root of true and astonishing achievements lies in the WILL to become the best that we can become ~ Harold Taylor. Therefore, it is advisable and makes good sense to take care of ourselves. By putting ourselves first we create within ourselves, the sort of vibrant person that can serve others without hostile resentment. Thus, caring for people without having to constantly take care of them. Contrast this attitude with selfishness… of paying attention only to our own needs and wants, with the exclusion of the needs and wants of other people. This kind of selfishness is NOT self-empowerment, it is often a self-destructive mindset, and it cuts us off and effectively isolates us from those people who might assist, guide and would support us in our times of need and desperation.

In contrast to a selfish quest, there is the spiritual self, the spark of the All-Mighty - contrary to what most people are inclined to acknowledge - that is present within each of us. All mankind is created in His Imageplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigChristian, Moslem, European, Easterner and Bushmen alike. , and this image or divine self, is there all the time and working in its subtle way to guide or lead us to ultimate fulfilment and to follow meaningful lives with a purpose.

However, there is also the psychological self. This kind of self-awareness is a product of all our previous experiencesplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigThe joy and the hurt: The happiness and pain. during our life up to the present moment. Then there is also the assumed self, when we are playing a role in life's drama and we assume that role… the moment when we put on the “uniform or personality”, take up the required “position” and play out the roleplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigFor example... a parent, husband, employee, mother, son, daughter, teacher, dentist, manager, thief, police officer, ...etc. . We “know” that we are playing a role - being aware of it as a completely different matter - but do we truly become that role? Thus, do we experience and adhere to the many joys, disappointments, responsibilities and challenges, accompanying that role or do we remain aloof and view the role as “forced” on us and we play the role (i.e. wearing a mask) only because we have to or are expected to do so?

Self-empowerment - sourcing from our status in life - allows us to play the many roles that we have to assume in life with the necessary conviction, and truly accept the many responsibilities attached to that particular role (i.e. the squid principle). Self-empowerment reclaims - once again - the true power within us to genuinely make a lasting difference. To our own life and the lives of others. To regain power over our own life and ultimately determine our destiny, we have to understand how influencing powers manifest in our modern society, and how that power impacts us, our choices, our actions and ultimately our circumstances… and also how to apply the power of now and seize the moment to our benefit and the advantage of others.

When we are content, reasonably happy and choose to live our present life… so be it. BUT, when we feel that we crave a new meaning, direction and purpose in life, we must set out to “discover” our true or spiritual self by becoming more open and honest about whom we are… this is when we embark on a self-empowerment quest.

A very simple solution in theory… BUT much easier said than done and quite a complicated process to deal with, especially when attempting to implement it in our everyday lives. Discovering and knowing ourselves requires ample time, lots and lots of courage, persistence, self-discipline and plenty of determination, particularly when employing the power of silence. The quest for discovering ourselves (i.e. to embark on an inner journey) is a very lonely road, difficult and very scary - but absolutely necessary - when we choose to be all that we can be. And, important to realize, is that self-empowerment don't come easy!

Most people reading and considering the above arguments, often agree with the indicated principles whole heartily, BUT when they want to put it into action - that what they agree with or believe in - it develops into a completely different ball game, and often they prefer to retreat into their current mental comfort zones, often after a brief glimpse of enlightenment (i.e. hope & understanding) and prefer to rather wait for circumstances to become much more favourable before becoming actively involved with self-empowering activities. Therefore - despite the many words they utter - most people choose to merely pay only lip service to the idea of self-empowerment, because… it is such a fashionable and politically correct term to use.

Discovering ourselves is a far more involved and complicated process than merely completing a couple of “scientific” proven psychological tests, visiting a psychic or psychiatrist. We are much too complex, dynamic and unique to “discover” ourselves through the “results” of some - one dimensional - psychological test or questionnaire. We need to accept the responsibility, take charge of and start to give direction to our lives. We may use assessment results or the “expert assumptions” of other people as possible guidelines to provide us with an initial direction, BUT we SHOULD only use such acquired assessment resultsplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigBeing it psychological assessments or any kind of performance appraisal. as a means to an end and NOT as the endplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigI.e. A vision, goal, objective or mission. in itself.

Discovering the authentic ME, allowing us to regain power and control over our own lives often sound mysterious, impossible, a bit unnatural, supernatural to an extent, far fetch and much too good to be true. W R O N G ! It is quite simple. An inborn human characteristic and a “normal every person” or “man on the street” phenomenon. Presently - mostly as adults - we tend to ignore or suppress the real co-creative power of our minds and when we entertain a thought long enough, it would sooner or later translate into choices and ultimately manifest in our actions to settle as a habit and becomes an intrinsic part of our reality, which is equally as valid for the positive, the negative and for both false negatives & positivesplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigRepresents the many illusions and delusions of life... A false-NEGATIVE is a conclusion indicating that an individual does not have... when the individual does have it. Correspondingly, a false-POSITIVE deduction indicates that an individual does have..., when the individual does not have it. .

Thus, everything that we encounter today (both the positive and the negative), once was only a mere thought entertained by somebody, a thought that was carried throughout human existence and that eventually manifests in reality as we know it todayplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigFor example... the Wright Brother's - aeroplane, Edison's - electric bulb, Bell's - telephone, Hitler's - World War II and Auschwitz legacy, Lenin's - Communism, ...etc. .

The foundation of self-empowerment is primarily based on a firm belief, that our thoughts (mindset) eventually change things as we know and experience them. Therefore, at the very core of any self-empowerment quest, is a changed mindset (i.e. beliefs and a Self-empowerment) and once we think differently, it will eventually manifests in our reality… as within so without!