Positively Powerful

I am reading Authentic Power by Courtney A. Kazembe, a transformational coach, speaker, and facilitator  I met during a recent training program. In his book, he gives a very thorough overview of what a paradigm is and how ours impacts our lives. Here’s an abbreviated tidbit: “It’s the way we “see” the world – in terms of perceiving, understanding and interpreting certain aspects of reality. Suppose for example, I was going to visit my friend in New York City. A street map would be of great help to me in reaching my destination. But suppose I purchased a map that was incorrectly labeled. The map was in fact a map of Los Angeles. Can you imagine the frustration, the ineffectiveness of trying to reach my destination? There is just no right way of doing the wrong things. As long as you are consistently sticking to the wrong paradigm — that map will limit anything you do.”  

I agree with Courtney, to get from where you are to where you want to be you’d better have the right map. I delight in coaching people to find their way from where they are to where they want to be. Whether I am coaching, leading a training, or speaking, I cherish the “miracles” people create when I facilitate their discovery of a new paradigm - map, perspective, way of thinking. One of the time-honored exercises I talk about in How To Be A Positively Powerful Person is the powerful experience we have when we shift our language from “I have to (be do or have something that I don’t want to be, do, or have most of the time)” to “I choose to…” Whenever you catch yourself saying ”I have to” replace it with “I choose to” consistently for the next three days. Let me know what you notice in the shft.  

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