I grew up in a time when we were encouraged to give away our power. There was no rule that said explicitly, ‘give away your power’. It was more implied.
Give Away My Power
“Annette just let your Grandma Irene pinch your cheeks as hard as she want’s, she is old and that’s what she does”. But Irene pinched hard and I hated it. Irene would pull all of my excess skin on each cheek and pinch my cheeks as hard as she could. She would then shake them up and down while saying, “oh what a cute little shayna madela”. Or translated from Yiddish to English as “oh what a cute little pretty girl”.
When Irene was done my cheeks would hurt and would be red and sometimes bruised. Whether it was my cheeks or being told to call someone ‘Aunt’ or ‘Uncle’ not because of the love and bond we shared but because of the blood it was shared, it always added up to the same thing. I was being raised to give away my power. Now I realize that my mom raised me with this instruction because she was also raised to give away her power. It was just a thing.
Carried Into All Areas Of My Life
Looking back I now see that these things I was raised to know and do, overrode any sense or gut feelings I had to determine what was right for me and for my body. I wasn’t given the option to say no to Irene, even though I knew how much it would hurt. Giving away my power was ingrained in me, it was something that just happened and I wasn’t even aware. It was as natural as tying my shoes. It was just me. I, unknowingly, carried this forward in my life, in my career, in my marriage and into the way I parent. I gave away my energy. I gave away my power. I gave away me.
Giving away my energy and my power became a way of survival. Sometimes to the point where I responded to people either passively or aggressively. I never felt confident in setting and sticking to my boundaries.
I was afraid.
I was afraid of rejection.
I was afraid of exposing myself.
I was afraid of failure.
I was afraid that people wouldn’t like me if I did not follow or worse if they knew the real me.
Reclaim Our Power
Here’s the thing about living through trauma, infertility, grief/loss, abuse, and chronic illness. All or even just one of these has made me stronger. In all or one of these situations, I found my voice. I found my power, and now that I found it, I am not giving it away. We do not need to experience a significant life event to find our power and to find our voice. We just need to decide today that this is the day we reclaim the power inside each of us.
So if today is the day you decide to take back your power then reach these seven sentences out loud.
I do not always have to do what is asked or told by others, I am uniquely and powerfully me.
I do not need to jump on every trend , I am uniquely and powerfully me.
I have confidence in myself
I listen to my ‘gut’
I listen to intuition
I use my power to find balance in my life
In all things choose kindness, love and light for yourself!
