Guideline on how to shift external power to authentic power:
A person living authentically exists “moment by moment, striving to understand themselves,
their motivation, defenses, and conditions of worth, while being aware of their
responsibilities and choices” (Joseph, 2019). In psychology, authenticity is more than merely
trying to be ourselves; it requires us to know and own who we are (Joseph, 2019). “Know
yourself + Own yourself + Be yourself = the Authentic Life” Joseph (2019).Once an
authentic person gains insight into their true self, they will aim to be unbiased about it –
choosing not to delude themselves and distort the reality of who they are. After deciding what defines the true self, the authentic person will then behave in a way that is true to those
characteristics, and avoid being “false” or “fake” merely to please others. Learning to live
authentically is about understanding what it means to be real.
Ideas on how to connect with your authentic power:
1. Be self-aware:
To be self-aware is for me a way to connect with myself and with my reality. When I am self-
aware, I stay connected to my five senses as we interpret our reality through them. Through
self-awareness I stay connected to my body, my thoughts, my emotions, it supports me to
stay aware of how I treat myself and how I treat others.
2. Be Vulnerable:
There’s a strong connection between authenticity and vulnerability (Daniel, 1998). It does not
feel safe to be vulnerable with everyone, hence I will suggest that you start to be vulnerable
with those you know you are safe with. I use the tool of a reflective journal to do
introspection, this journal supports me to be completely honest and vulnerable with myself
(Mundell, 2018). Brené Brown (2018) confirms the strength of the link between authenticity
and vulnerability.
3. Understand your values:
We all have a value system either we are aware of it or not. Our value system gives us a set of
guidelines to follow in our daily lives. To live in authentic power I believe that it is important
to review our values, as our values will determine among other things the decisions we make,
the people we have in our lives, what purpose we decide to partake in, and how we treat
people. Your values will let you consider what and who you invest your time and money in.
If your choices do not align with your values, it is possible that you will make commitments
based on external expectations. Core values mostly gets divided into eight major areas:
Environment, Career, Fun, Romance, Personal growth, money, health, friends and family.
4. Listen to your inner knowingness:
This inner knowingness is known by many names, some call it inner voice, inner wisdom or
“listen to your gut”. Many times in my life my heart, my gut knew what I had to do,
sometimes I listened other times I brushed it aside and thought nothing of it. I do think that it is important to listen to this inner knowingness, as this is your personal compass and by
trusting this knowingness it can provide you with a powerful indication on the right course of
action.
5. Ask questions:
By examining your own mental and emotional processes, you can learn a lot about yourself
and your needs. Introspection is often a journey that takes commitment, time and honesty.
Asking the right questions can help you to understand yourself and your motivations. A
reflective Journal written ( https://www.quintonmundell.com/shop) can help you to take the
time to self-reflect and to examine your thoughts, feelings and actions. This is a great tool for personal development (Mundell, 2018). Asking yourself thought-provoking and introspective questions can support you to recognise areas of strength and weaknesses, it can give you insights to attain new goals and visions.
Joseph (2019) suggests asking yourself the following questions:
Do you feel free to make your own choices?
Do you feel free to express your own views and opinions?
Do you feel you can be yourself on a day-to-day basis?
If you answer “no” to any of the questions, reflect on one further question:
Could it be that you are not being true to who you are?
An Introspective exercise to do:
Write down a situation whereby you acted out of external power (a situation whereby you
felt upset or disconnected). Reflect on how this behavior influenced you and maybe those
around you. Write down more effective ways on how you could have handled this situation.
Contemplate on how you could have had a different outcome if you chose to handle it
differently.
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