Hi there ~ Nice to see you again.
My words of the week:
“Empowerment is a strong medicine.”
I read this in a book called The Mindbody Prescription, which suggests that physical pain is a “distraction” for suppressed or repressed emotions.
Empowerment can kind of make you feel like your own brand of superhero. Knowing that you are the one behind the wheel of your life sounds, well, pretty basic. Yet often, the simplest truths are the ones that get away from us the most.
This past week, empowerment made its presence known. Have you ever experienced synchronicity?
There's certainly something to be said for awareness: When something is on the brain, it pops up everywhere. For instance, I recently saw a gingham scarf that I wanted so badly, but couldn’t bring myself to purchase. The next morning, the first coworker I saw sported a gingham blouse. That night, I spotted a gingham umbrella hanging in my sister’s apartment. Gingham on gingham on gingham.
However, sometimes different areas of life converge in more poignant ways. Perhaps it’s the energy brain frequency waves we put out...or something else. Whatever the reason, empowerment hit from all angles this week. I actually decided to write this empowerment post about last week – and then realized a few days later that I’m spending this entire week writing about empowerment at work. I mean, come on: Am I the only one who finds that fascinating?
February 28th marks the two-year anniversary of when D and I met. It’s still strange that I’ve only known the man – you know, that man who I married in July – for two years.
We laughed the other night about how most couples get engaged after two years.
I did a little research to make sure I wasn’t way off base here, and, as it turns out, most couples are together for about five years before deciding to tie the knot. They often date for about 1 ½, live together for about 2, and get engaged about 1 ½ -2 years after that.
But, as usual, D did things his own way and opted for two months instead. (#twomonthstwoyears)
Yes, D marches to the beat of his own drum. It is at once endearing and mind-numbing, hysterical and infuriating, calculated and haberdash. It seems to make either perfect sense, or absolutely no sense at all. And it is both one of the reasons I love him the most and one of the reasons he drives me more crazy than anyone I know. He gives me a run for my money, and he empowers me like no other.
So, in honor of my one-of-a-kind, here are three things that he has taught me about empowerment.
Be proud to fit out.
Or, as he put it: “I am weird. My whole life, I didn’t know it. Growing up, I thought I was just a normal kid. But now I know: I’m a little different.”
In other words, own who you are. So many of us constantly try to fit in, though we say we don’t care about it. Think of tiny things like waiting in line because everyone else is – even if you don’t know why everyone is. In that situation, D usually investigates to make sure there’s a reason. And you know what? Sometimes there’s not.
He just does him – which, I have to admit, is usually pretty refreshing.
What’s that Dr. Seuss quote?
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
Stand by your decisions.
For example, his confidently proclaiming “Marsupial!” as a “Flower” during a recent game of Scattergories. (I almost gave it to him, just because he was so sure he had nailed it.)
D is nothing if not a man of conviction. And, while it drives me batshit crazy at times, I have to admire it. The man does not pussyfoot – unless he’s really trying to think about what he says in order to make someone feel better, in which case, it means even more due to the sheer amount of effort it entails.
Lead with confidence – and accept imperfection.
A classic quote of his: “I always think the best...Sometimes I think the worst.”
Or this one: After reading the last lines of The Great Gatsby, which read as "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past", he turns to me and says, “I was defined by my past until I met you...and now I'm defined by my future.”
And, after my heart busted open and started bleeding all over the floor, and I said, in disbelief of the eloquence of the man beside me: “I've never heard you put it in so many words"...
...D replied: “I usually just say I love you...I say stupid stuff too.”
Yes, he is that rare empowered breed who 1) Honestly, 100%, recognizes his strengths and wears them like badges of honor, and 2) Can admit, at the drop of a hat, when he says or does something stupid.
So, there you go. Empowerment is a strong medicine. Fit out, stand by your decisions, and lead with confidence – while accepting your imperfect humanness: These all help you feel like your own brand of superhero.
If you build it, they will probably come. If you believe it, it will probably be. And if you wear bright yellow Chucks with your suit at a wedding, you’ll probably be the life of the party on the dance floor.
But ask D for more details on that one.
Thanks for stopping by. And keep sharing your stories, because someone wants to hear them.