Over the years I’ve developed a lot of wishes for the clients with whom I work. I don’t mean that I develop goals for them, though I might help them to set goals.

I mean wishes. There are certain things that I want desperately for people to absorb. And one of those things – a very big one of those things – is to not give away your power.

One definition of power is “the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.”

Everyday, multiple times a day, I see clients and friends and family members give their power away – most often to the scale. The ability to direct or influence behavior or the course of events.

What have you said that you will do or not do as a result of the number on the scale (or any other number that is holding you hostage)? What circumstances have you turned down? What plans have you changed?

Or perhaps more importantly, what are the things that you have said to yourself in giving that power away?

“I have no will power.”

“I’m too lazy.”

“I could try harder.”

We give our power away in other places as well – we give it away to social norms or society expectations, whether that’s around body image, financial image, or social media image – blindly pushing ourselves towards something that we may or may not really want.

One of my favorite parts of being a strength coach is watching people discover or rediscover their own physical and mental strength. Because that feeling of strength often translates into a place of empowerment.

If you are sitting there reading this right now (first of all, thank you) – is there something out there that you are allowing to have power over you?

If so, what does your world look like if you flip the script? What does it look like if you reclaim your power?

Because you can. You absolutely can reclaim your power