Dallas Bragg argues that empowerment is "intentional accountability." When you blame others for your feelings, you give away your power. Taking responsibility for your reactions and asking constructive questions instead restores control and shifts you from victim mentality to agency.
What do you give your power away to? I know I've given my power away to people when they piss me off. I've given my power away to negative situations, negative situations that send me into a spiral. I've given my power away to my job title, given my power away to my reflection in the mirror. Empowerment is the opposite of giving your power away. And what is that? For me, It's intentional accountability. So when you give your power away, you're blaming someone else or something else for how you feel. But when you step into your power, you are taking accountability. You're going to say, this person did this, but it doesn't upset me. This situation is this. How can I learn from it? This job title says this. How can I change it? These are the empowering questions that I've begun asking myself, and let me tell you, makes a huge, huge difference. No more victim mentality. No more being a result of my external circumstances. I am in control.
