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Discussing Personal Power, When You Have It, and When You Don’t
The very notion of personal power is so intimidating that it can silence a room.
Sitting in a circle of students in my university Communications class, the professor asked the group, “When have you ever felt powerful?”
Dead silence.
As is my wont, I jumped in first and told a story of riding a mustang in Montana. The horse took the bit in his mouth and galloped furiously down the road with me having the best ride ever. The cowboys watching this East Coast city girl ride a wild mustang who went rogue got really nervous, fearing the worse.
They were all ashen when I trotted up to the corral, my mustang sweating, me grinning.
Not only did I survive the ride, I won the Barrel Race in the local rodeo two days later!
Silence. No one had anything to say.
I can’t give anyone a list or assurance as to how to feel powerful. But I know one thing: you can’t make yourself powerful. But you can set up the conditions that are optimum for you to feel so.
It seems to be a confluence of self-confidence, luck, and success over a challenge.
