10 Simple Things You Can Do To Feel More Empowered
Empowerment is all about deliberate action!
Sometimes — too often — I find myself in a rut, waking up tired and uninspired, dreading the chores of another day. Talking to people, reading articles, browsing the many media of public opinion, I have come to the startling conclusion that I am not alone in this. So, I compiled a list of things that I know make me feel empowered.
Empowerment is about affirming our ability to take action and change our lives and in the world. It’s about cultivating a sense of vitality and a sense of freedom in our lives — waking up excited about life and ready to conquer another day. Without further ado, here are 10 things you can do to feel more empowered:
- Cook a new meal
In a world full of frozen convenience and take-away meals, simply taking the time and attempting to cook something from scratch is an empowered action. Give yourself something you’ve been craving through deliberate action.
2. Exercise
Whether it be doing some cardio, lifting some weights, busting out some bodyweight exercises, or just going for a walk, exercise is one thing we can always rely on to make us feel empowered. It not only strengthens us and healthier but also gets our blood flowing and endorphins released as we’re moving, alleviating a bad mood or even symptoms of depression.
3. Read a book
We are bombarded with content designed to grab our attention from us through our devices every single day, simply wrestling our attention back and sitting down to read something of our own explicit choosing can be tremendously empowering.
4. Learn something new
Many of us feel like learning is something to be done in school, and if we perhaps didn’t like school, we may have developed a distaste for occupying the role of a student. If we neglect our potential for this reason, however, we are failing ourselves and missing out on things that may inspire us to new heights in life. Live and learn!
5. Create something
It may be music, a drawing, a piece of woodwork, or a poem. It is good to remind ourselves every once in a while, that we have the power to be creative. Often, I find we put the bar too high for creating things — “if it's not perfect I don’t want it” — but there is a joy in making things, no matter how simple. And we only get better with practice.
6. Talk to a stranger
Especially in these times, talking to strangers may seem like a daunting task. But don’t you ever wonder what is going on in the minds of all these people we live around but never interact with? There are literally billions of individuals on this earth, each living a different life. Every stranger we talk to makes all the other strangers a little less strange, and life on earth surrounded by people a bit more comfortable.
7. Disconnect
Most of us spend hours on our phones every day, and maybe some more hours in front of our computers. Our lives — work, leisure, social lives — are all built into these devices. On average, we check our phones 150 times per day and touch them 2600 times per day. (Williams, p. 70) Taking a moment to step away from our devices for just 60 or even 30 minutes — to maybe meditate, eat a meal without distraction, read, walk, think, write — can help us maintain a more solid sense of who we are.
8. Power pose
Our body language shows how we feel inside, but how we use our bodies also influences how we feel inside. Adopting a powerful pose — making ourselves large and taking up a lot of space — can make us feel more empowered to take action and decide in our lives.
9. Go into the wild and shout at the top of your lungs!
Similar to power posing, shouting, or using the full range of our voices are taking up space and thus allowing us to feel more empowered. It is also a good way of releasing frustrations and pent-up emotions we’ve otherwise been unable to give expression to.
10. Cold shower
Cold showers are unpleasant, and our natural first reaction when we come into contact with cold water is a shock reaction. Our minds go blank, and we hyperventilate. Deliberately staying in cold water for any period, regaining control of our bodies, and showing ourselves that we can deal with this unpleasant situation, can empower us to face and deal with other unpleasant situations.
That’s it! I hope at least some of these were useful, and if you have any suggestions to add to the list, I’d be happy to hear them!
