The Direction of Intention

613. Join me in inspiring truly powerful people. Each day I will add a new thought, story or idea to support your quest and mine.

The topic on our call today was gratitude. The transformational presence coaching community comes together once a month to check in, share insights, best practices, bring professional questions, and share personal triumph and tragedy. A member of our community lost her home to Hurricane Sandy. Everything is gone. Another is losing her mother to cancer. Another member is experiencing exponential professional growth while another member shared her recognition that growth doesn’t have to be painful; with presence comes new eyes to see opportunity everywhere. With presence, the story of pain drops away.

In each case, amidst the stories of chaos and clarity, the cliffs and the solid ground, the people on the call dialed up their gratitude. In each case the community supported each other in their growth and strengths. I was moved by their dedication to supporting the best in each other; I am in awe of how dedicated this community has become in reinforcing each other in their power.

What do we support in each other? This question has been on my radar for several months. My work often begins with helping groups recognize their patterns of support. In cultures of control you will most often find that people unknowingly ally with each other’s pain, they will support each other in their victim story. Listen to conversations around you. Are the conversations stories of drama and blame? Are the listeners commiserating and then telling blame tales of their own? If you think of the conversations as alliances being forged you will begin to see the pacts being signed with dysfunction, “I will support you in your pain if you support me in mine.” Communities of control produce victim alliances.

In a culture of power the stories you hear will be stories of choice and opportunity. You may hear experiences of devastation but the accent is not on blame or helplessness, the accent is on “how I am within my circumstance.” Empowered people know that they are distinct and separate from their circumstance: no one else is responsible for how they feel or the actions they take. No one can control their circumstances but they have infinite control over how they are within their circumstance. In communities of power there are no victims; there are participants. Listen to their forged alliances and you will see pacts being signed with generosity. Communities of power produce alliances with power. Communities of power know that empowerment is not an individual sport; power is created with others and is made visible in their patterns of support.

Filed under: Power, Truly Powerful People |