NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION - STOP GIVING YOUR POWER AWAY
This world is not meant for weak people. Life is not designed for weak people. And you are not destined to be weak.
For me, there are two kinds of people: strong and weak.
By strong, I don’t mean those with a strong personality – that’s usually someone weak pretending to be strong - or someone with a muscular physique. By strong, I mean resilient, as strength doesn’t come from the outside, nor is it something that can be given. Strength comes from within. It is a mindset and it is a choice.
Strong people own their power. Weak people give their power away.
To visualise the difference between strong and weak people I like to compare them with lions and sheep.
I see strong people like lions. They are natural leaders. They live their lives on their own terms. On the contrary, weak people are like sheep. They are followers. They don’t take responsibility for their lives. They do what the majority does and then they complain.
Strong people see life in a positive way, even when things don’t work out as they would like. They don’t believe that life is being unfair to them. They learn from their experiences and take that learning positively. They understood that life is for them to live it and not against.
The difference between living as a lion versus living as a sheep is the difference between living a happy and meaningful life versus an unhappy and frustrated life.
A lion doesn’t follow dogmas. A lion creates their own. On the contrary, sheep will do what they are told…following the pack to the right… then everyone to the left and obeying the rules.
Giving your power away is like living like a sheep. Not doing what you want to do but doing what you have to do. What you are supposed to do.
I call sheep “people pleasers”. Most of the time, they are pleasing others, rather than themselves, as they are worried about what others might think or say about them.
As a result, a sheep’s self-worth gets weaker and weaker and so they are always looking for recognition, approval and validation to compensate. They have a false belief that the more money, power, beauty they have, the better. In other words, they see happiness and success in life from the outside in. External factors make them feel good (or bad).
Lions understood that everything starts from within. They don’t seek validation as they don’t need it. They accept who they are, and make the most out of it. They know that only they are responsible for their own happiness and so, they act accordingly. They are grounded. They think, feel and act based on what is meaningful for them without worrying what others expect from them.
Lions know that true courage comes from the inside out. That means that a lion is a light unto itself. Just watch a lion’s body language: he or she is proud, fearless and impeccable. Their mere presence will undoubtedly change the energy of the place.
On the contrary, a sheep is always looking around, always worrying that something terrible might happen. They live in a constant fear and insecurity.
The irony is that sheep are essential to lions for their survival. Without sheep, lions can’t survive. Whereas a sheep can survive without lions, as all they need is grass and water.
But like there is always a yin and a yang, or two sides of the same coin, so there are some lions that manage to keep the sheep scared. These lions, out of fear of losing their own lion status, will never encourage other potential lions to be strong and stand on their own feet. They have the wrong vision that one day that new lion might turn against them and so, they “kill” other prides’ lion cubs.
But existence is wise and every now and then, a sheep stands up and becomes a lion that changes the course of the world. Call it Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Oprah Winfrey or anyone who comes from very limited circumstances and yet manages to make a big contribution to the world.
I believe that we all have a lion inside us, even those wearing sheep’s clothing. Yet, 99% of the population lives like a sheep - full of worries and fear. And you know this, because these words resonate in you.
Nico
