How do you give your power away? How do you take it back? Learn how to embrace and develop personal empowerment.

1. Developing Personal Empowerment
butterfly-maiden.com/personal-development/developing-personal-empowerment/
To understand the concept of personal empowerment, let’s begin by breaking down the word. It simply means
‘add power to’ and ref ers to increasing the strength (spiritual, political, social, educational, gender or economic)
of individuals and communities.
According to Wikipedia, personal empowerment includes the f ollowing capabilities:
The ability to make decisions about personal/collective circumstances
The ability to access inf ormation and resources f or decision-making
Ability to consider a range of options f rom which to choose (not just yes/no, either/or.)
Having positive-thinking about the ability to make change
Ability to learn and access skills f or improving personal/collective circumstance.
Involving in the growth process and changes that is never ending and self -initiated
Increasing one’s positive self -image and overcoming stigma
Increasing one’s ability in discreet thinking to sort out right and wrong”
Now that you understand the concept of personal empowerment, do you want/need to
increase your strength in any of these areas?
The solution isn’t just that simple – we need to understand how we became dis-empowered in the f irst place.
How do we give our power away?
Too of ten in our f ormative years, our power was accidentally given away to authority f igures in our lives. It
begins with our experience as children with our parents. Typically, the child has no right to input on many
decisions, and theref ore has no experience with the decision-making process. Perhaps you married young, and
bought into the patriarchal notion that your husband was the man of the house, that he would be wearing the
pants in the f amily, and that your role was to be quiet and submissive.
Maybe you were raised in a dogmatic religion that instilled in you the belief that someone else was better
suited to receive spiritual guidance f or you.You might still operate under this f allacy, giving away your right to
divine connection away because you don’t believe you are worthy.
[See: Honoring the Self Does Not Equal Selfishness]
We give our power away in numerous ways, throughout every day. For example, when we choose to let our
emotions get the best of us, when we take on someone else’s burden, when we allow someone to drain our
energy, when we have opportunities and we don’t take them.
Developing Personal Empowerment
Adding strength and power won’t happen overnight, just as starting a new exercise program won’t yield
results immediately. It is a process and you will need to commit to, as you steadily increase your strength in
mind, body, and spirit.
Here are a f ew additional suggestions if you desire to develop personal empowerment:

2. Accept responsibility f or what your role is in your own lif e. Commit to it.
Without question, spend time with those people who value you.
Cease the negative self-talk and self-criticism. Your own judgment of self limits you dramatically.
Uplif t and encourage others. As you recognize your ability to inspire, you will develop conf idence.
Find your passion. When you f eel driven to take action, you will f ind your strength.
My goal with the Butterfly Maiden Project is to educate, encourage and empower you… and once
you’ve embraced personal empowerment, you will begin to inspire and empower others! I hope you’ll
join us!
With mucho a latte of love and respect,
Your Transformation Tour Guide
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About the Author: Janet Louise Stephenson
Janet Louise Stephenson is the visionary behind Butterf ly Maiden, a project dedicated to personal
transf ormation. Af ter a lif etime hiding behind a mask of other people’s expectations, Janet f ound the courage
to quit hiding. Through the process of self -discovery she developed the conf idence to embrace her own
potential and now of f ers guidance to others who are ready to reveal their true colors.
As a Transf ormation Tour Guide, Janet encourages and supports those who are bravely starting their own
journey.
Download my no-nonsense strategies for overcoming your biggest obstacle – yourself!