That is the makings of a true leader. One who leads from a place of wisdom and not using positional power alone.

You can have positional power and personal power, but you cannot be an effective leader without personal power. However, you do not need the positional power to be a driving force for good in your own life and those around you.

3 Tips to Boost Your Personal Power

1.  Strive to learn more

Commit to consistent learning and be broad about the topics you study. Study life and seek out seminars and workshops to build your expertise. Above all, learn more about yourself continually. Try new things, experiment, take some risks and put yourself into situations that make you feel vulnerable, maybe even push your “comfort zone” a bit.

  2.  Practice Mindful Gratitude

Practicing gratitude is among the most positive habits you can develop. Keeping a gratitude journal can serve you in multiple ways. You will feel better, sleep better, eat healthier, have stronger relationships with everyone important in your life, and you will feel happier for being grateful for everything you have surrounding you. You will be amazed at how an “attitude of gratitude” can change everything and everyone around you.

3.  Own Your Authenticity

Authenticity is about being true to you. Being genuine. This is only possible when you have in depth knowledge and know your strengths and weaknesses. You will begin to act with methodical intentions that are in line with your moral compass. You will know your place and when to delegate.  You will discover how to go about using your relationship skills to get people to do things for you that you know they will do a better job than you could if you were to try.

Coming from a place of personal power to influence others will help push you toward reaching your goals faster. You will have strong relationships with people who value your input, expertise, trust your credibility and will help you when you ask, without hesitation.

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If you are feeling in a rut, think about going on a vacation. This can be a great way to change the ordinary. You might even meet new people that introduce you to new opportunities. 

Another way to shake things up is to join a club that you would not normally join. Have you always wanted to learn a certain craft or hobby? Find and join a local club where you can learn all about that craft or even take lessons. Are you musical?  Can you play an instrument?  Maybe you could try out with the group as a singer.  No matter what the activity, try something that is different from what you normally do.

If your life is a bit unstructured, and that is not working for you, try to introduce some routine into your life. This could be as simple as creating a to-do list. However, if you tend to be a person who has not had much routine, you may want to find someone who can hold you accountable to the routine.

Many people find having a mix of routine and spontaneity works best for them. Doing something spontaneous helps to break up the routine before the people get into a rut. Getting back to those routines after taking a break will restore structure in their lives. This is not necessarily the way everyone will work best. But, it is something to try. Give yourself some time before deciding it as not working.

Only you can decide whether you need to include a routine or if you have too much routine in your life. You also are the only one who can determine if you need to do a mix of routine and acting spontaneously.

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Any of these matters and more may put us in a bad mood – if we allow it. The great news is, we don’t have to stay in that bad mood. We may change it, notwithstanding our circumstances, if we take a couple of minutes to gain some view. You are able to literally alter your mood (without drugs or alcohol) in as little as five minutes.

Take a breath — nice and deep, in through the nose, away through the mouth. Take ten long, deep breaths to get the oxygen running through your body and start to relax your muscles. Sit cross-legged on the floor or lye down if possible. Carry on breathing deeply.

Discover a happy thought.  You are able to start to rise above this bad mood if you’ll shift your focus from what’s bothering you, to things and individuals that make you pleased. Discover a happy place, real or imagined, and picture it vividly in your brain — the colors, the scents, everything about it. Center on that for a moment or two while you carry on to breathe deep.

Have a mental attitude of Appreciation. Start with something simple and obvious, like “Thankfully, I don’t have to live with my boss, I may leave him at the office and feel sorry for his wife!” or “Thank goodness I’m in this room with the door locked for at least five minutes of peace!” Whatever works for you. The funnier you are able to make it; the faster it will lift your mood. Even matters like, “It could be worse, I could be in the jailhouse in a foreign country,” or “I may be living on the street or ill and in the hospital with some terminal illness. This is truly not that bad.”

Remember, things may forever be worse. You may be uglier, shorter, or heavier than you are now, I’m certain.

Begin listing all of the good things you have to be grateful for, like being able to see and treasure beauty, hear music and laughter, smell roses, savor good food, walk, run, dance, drive a car, talk to acquaintances, look up great articles on the internet, and so forth., etc. Continue breathing deep and choosing to concoct the positive rather than the negative.

In just minutes, even though your circumstances might not alter, your mood will. You’ll have succeeded in altering your thoughts, relaxing, and taking charge of your mood. You’ll no longer allow that particular individual or situation to ruin your day. You’ll have taken your power back, and with it, your great mood!

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Instead of focusing on what they can’t do, they focus on the things they can do, and work on doing them even better. Perhaps you can’t cook a very good baked dinner, but if you can create a wonderful baked cheesecake. Let the cheesecake become your signature dessert. What if you can’t grow tomatoes in your garden, but you can grow flowers. Then create a beautiful garden and become known for the flowers you grow there, rather than the tomatoes you can’t grow. 

When we focus on perfecting what we are already doing well, we begin to feel better about ourselves. Every day our self-talk tells us conflicting stories. People may praise us for something we have done or the new clothes we are wearing, but we find it impossible to accept that praise graciously and make a negative comment in response.  Our destructive self-talk will often speak louder than the words of our friends. However, focusing on the things we know we are good at, will help our positive self-talk to say things to us that we will believe and will help our overall self-esteem.

Take time this week to enjoy and appreciate the things you are good at, and particularly the ones you believe you can do well. Ask your partner or your friends if you are not sure where your strengths lie. Enjoy focusing your time and energy on helping the good become the best and then enjoy your achievements. Allow yourself to enjoy comments and appreciation of your work. 

At first, it may feel uncomfortable for you to accept praise about the good things you do. Try to remember how you feel when you receive a word of praise at work.  When you can accept praise for the things you are good at, with ease and sincere gratitude it will be an important step towards a strong and healthy positive self-image.

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1. Relationship goals. Get to know and establish two good friends. Work on accepting more dates or opportunities to spend time with friends when I’m invited to join.
2. Education goals. Contact local colleges to take a look at the art courses and training programs they offer. Sign up and complete the Dale Carnegie course. You can also check out the courses offered by Udemy which are very reasonable and offer a side range of selections
3. Career goals. Talk to the supervisor about the special project I would lien to initiate this year.

Achieve at least three of the four goals my supervisor set for me (by year’s end). Request a meeting with the supervisor to discuss the job milestones I must achieve to receive a promotion. Keep in mind that the more specific you are when writing your plans, the more focused your actions can be in working toward accomplishing your goals. Next, ponder your five-year Personal Development Plan. What’s amazing about a five-year plan is that you can accomplish some pretty awesome and life-changing goals in that period of time. Examine these examples of goals that can be achieved over the course of a five-year Personal Development Plan:

1. Relationship goals. Make an effort to develop a serious relationship by talking with my partner. Discuss my wants for the future. Read one book a year about how to have a healthy loving relationship.
2. Education goals. Check with three online college programs to find the one most compatible with my financial and time requirements. Then, complete my last two years of college so that I can earn my bachelors’ degree.
3. Career goals. Apply for up to three entry-level positions in accounting after completing my bachelors’ degree in accounting. Focus on finding work at a large corporation so more advancement opportunities will be available.
4. Miscellaneous personal goals. Research three to five major cities where corporations I’d like to work are located. Narrow cities to two and visit each one to check out the city’s layout and neighborhoods. Determine which area to first apply for work.

Perhaps it’s time to get your life together by designing a Personal Development Plan. In your plan, include elements related to relationships, education, health, career, and spirituality.  Include goals you wish to achieve in each area. Discover the incredible personal growth you can achieve all your life through developing a Personal Development Plan.”

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