Physical Health
Work You Spirituality
Emotional Health
Powerful You!
Six Ways to Create the Life You Want
by Judith Fertig P
ulitzer Prize winner Anna Quindlen had reached the top of the New York Times bestseller list more than once, yet she relates in her memoir, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, that she also yearned to be able to do a headstand, but felt she didn’t possess the necessary sense of balance. “That’s just a little story you tell yourself,” advised her personal trainer. Our bodies, Quindlen observes, are major appliances that deliver decades of faithful service with precious little downtime. She admits, “If the human body had a warranty, mine would have run out ages ago.” Still, she clung to a vision: “I want to be strong; strong enough to hike the mountain without getting breathless, strong enough to take a case of wine from the deliveryman and carry it to the kitchen.” Quindlen, who lives in New York City and New England, was also maintaining an incorrect belief: It wasn’t her sense of balance that was holding her back, it was fear.
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After two years of trying, she was able to do a headstand. Along with a sense of accomplishment, this quirky achievement was a revelation as she ultimately concluded, “If I can do one thing like that, perhaps there are others.”
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Take a Stand Personal empowerment is all about taking a stand—developing the vision, countering misguided beliefs, having a plan and then moving forward to be the best version of one’s true self. David Gershon and Gail Straub, of
West Hurley, New York, authors of Empowerment: The Art of Creating Your Life As You Want It, contend that empowerment always starts with a desire for a better life. “We need to learn how to dream, how to boldly and courageously reach for our highest visions,” says Straub. “Start with what’s working already and the vision of what life can be.” She likens self- empowerment to “spiritual surfi ng,
22 Central Florida natural awakenings Finances Relationships
riding the wave where the energy, momentum and passion are.” As workshop leaders, they encourage participants to transform limiting beliefs, determine what is meaningful for them, construct a compelling vision from that insight and then fi nd ways to manifest that vision. They address six key areas in which to become more powerful and realize our personal best: physical health, emotional health, relationships, work, fi nances and spirituality.
Physical Health First, recognize what we’re already doing right—eating well, perhaps, or exercising—and then add another healthy activity. Cardiologist Suzanne Steinbaum, Director of New York City’s Lenox Hill Hospital’s Women and Heart Disease, underscores that much of physical health is within our personal control. “Many lifestyle factors keep us from being physically healthy enough to lead a full life,” she says, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, lack of exercise, poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption or drug use, stress and depression. “The good news is that lifestyle factors are within our power to change.”
Steinbaum recommends starting small by changing one bad habit and then seeing how we feel. “Quit the diet soda or the sugar-sweetened beverages. Get rid of potato chips. Go for a walk. Put down your smartphone and spend some focused time with your child, a friend or even your pet. Then breathe… and just listen to how you feel.”
Emotional Health Our emotions can be allies in achieving personal empowerment, advises Straub. For example, fear can alert us to danger; joy can remind us to be grateful. However, when emotions cause pain and threaten derailment, it’s important to understand why, and then work through it. “Uncomfortable emotions let us
know there is a problem to attend to, a wound to work on, thus allowing us to see our own truth,” explains don Miguel Ruiz, Jr., of San Diego, California, author of The Five Levels of Attachment. “With awareness, we can observe our uncomfortable emotions, as they may be showing a belief we are holding that is no longer true for us.”
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