Empowerment (Part 1 of 2): Finding Our Power
First of a two-part series explaining the framework for empowerment.
We’ve lived through unprecedented times. The amplitude and frequency of change has been steadily increasing over the past five years (no that’s not right) decade (still too short) generation (wow, but yes). At first we grappled with volatility; we recognized that the world can be uncertain1. The last three years forced us to confront how our world can change in every way, overnight. We have been forced to reckon with enormous societal, professional, and personal change at a speed and scale none of us had experienced before.
We have been on a journey of understanding and many are grappling with how to move forward. I’ve observed - in the press, social media, and in my own conversations with friends, colleagues, mentors and mentees - how these changes and overarching uncertainty have led to frustration, distrust, burnout, and a permeating sense of powerlessness.
These changes and overarching uncertainty have led to frustration, distrust, burnout, and a permeating sense of powerlessness.
I am on a mission to empower people to recognize the systems we operate in, articulate the forces working against us, and act to dismantle these structures from the inside. I am empowering people to recognize their hopes, desires, fulfillment, and claim our space. This requires changing the systems around us.
The first step is to acknowledge the situation. This is real! So many feel the unsettled frustration, ambiguity, burnout, and distrust; we see people we love and care for feeling this way. What we feel is true.
Next, we act. We don’t run haphazardly into the fray, ready to fight: We prepare. And for this, I have a framework.
I am on a mission to empower people to recognize the systems we operate in, articulate the forces working against us, and act to dismantle these structures from the inside. I am empowering people to recognize their hopes, desires, fulfillment, and claim our space.
Empowerment Framework
Having a plan, a blueprint, a framework to know how to channel our energy and do the work is the first step on a path to success. There are four ingredients for empowerment.
Intuition - listen to the mind
Strength - prepare the body
Advocacy - ignite the spirit
Expansion - enlist the community
Leah Goldman (b. 1982), Empowerment Framework, 2023 (pen, Crayola marker on printer paper)
Did I look this up on google or read it in a book? No. This is mine (copyright 2023 Leah Goldman LLC) compiled from my own experience and learnings. I share it here so that I can put this work out into the world, help others, and test the concept.
In today’s newsletter, I’ll dive into the first two elements of the framework: Intuition & Strength.
Intuition | Know, and trust, thyself
What do I want?
We must know where we are going. A general direction, not the full detailed plan. Otherwise any step, any move we make will not necessarily get us closer to our destination nor achieve the power to reach it. Some questions to consider to determine what we truly want:
What brings me fulfillment?
What makes me happy?
What do I absolutely not want?
What is success, to me?
What is enough?
These are not light, easy questions. These are not questions we can answer off the top of our heads. These questions require going deep, understanding ourselves, and listening to the inner voice. This requires some level of stillness, canceling out the noise.
What we want is worthy. Knowing that conventional signals of success - a title, salary, status - may not be what will bring happiness is valid. Realizing that flexibility, autonomy, decision power, [insert wildest desires here]… are the elements that have demonstrable impact on how we use our time and our lives is, truthfully, life changing.
Knowing when something feels wrong - or right. Trusting your gut to make decisions. Listening to the inner voice whispering the true to you answer. Honoring that inner wisdom that leads us down the right for me path - not the right for them way.
Tools that can help
Our intuition is shaped by our lived experiences and the stories we absorb that imbue our values and beliefs. Honing intuition is a process and here are a few tools I’ve used that have helped me to increase the volume of my inner voice.
Meditation - being still and settling the mind. In the past I’ve used the Headspace app, which is a great way to get started. Still Life by Rebecca Pacheco is a fantastic primer and has real, actionable tools that anyone from novice to experienced practitioners can use.
Journaling - let it out. Write it down. Allow your inner voice to speak up and share your truth. It’s also really fun to buy some new stationery supplies. But an old notebook or stack of printer paper is a great place to start.
Tarot - I use the cards as a tool to gain perspective and tap into my true wishes. They tell a story and give a point of view - my reaction to agree and lean in or to disagree and work to counteract are insight to what have known all along.
There are so many tools and techniques that can help us sharpen our intuition and hear our inner voice. Let me know what works for you.
Strength | Prepare and train for your power
Training for life
By honoring our bodies - eating well, focusing on fitness, moving throughout the day - we are preparing ourselves for life, not just a temporary or near-term goal (run the race, hit the PR, fit in those jeans).
When we train our bodies hard, we learn how to function under stress. When we flex our muscles, we remind ourselves of how strong we are. In my powerlifting era, I set and achieved a goal of deadlifting twice my body weight. When I feel like something is hard, or that I don’t have what it takes to do it, I think back and visualize myself lifting two Leahs on either end of a barbell.
When it really gets tough, we need to know how to manage through, how to fight and do the hard things. Be strong and take up space! Get comfortable being visible and living big. Move and speak your intention. Be confident that you can achieve your intention because you are strong and unstoppable.
Building physical strength is a gift to your future self. Of course, there are health benefits (strong bones! healthy heart!) and there are also the benefits to our confidence and self esteem. This physical strength will translate into strength in all areas of life, especially when we need the strength to push back, speak up and act.
When I was on the Badass Moms podcast, I (very enthusiastically) discussed this point:
Tools that can help
A coach - I am a huge fan of coaching in all aspects of life, especially fitness. I’ve worked with several coaches (aka personal trainers) over the years and I’ve found that working with an actual human helps me to set and achieve ambitious goals. Hitting that 2x bodyweight deadlift goal (if you’re curious, it was 300 lbs) required a habit of going to the gym, proper form, regular practice, accessory work (pull ups, core), recovery techniques (massage, rest), and mindset. Could I do that alone? Maybe one of those elements… but not the whole recipe for success.
Routine - building habits to get up and move, especially if this isn’t a current practice, is key. They say “the hardest part of working out is getting started” (“they” are so wise). If you have an intention and start, you’ll feel good when you’re in it. You’ll feel great when it’s done! You’ll feel sore the next day (and the day after…). I keep at it because the feeling after I haven’t worked out in a long time is a really big, uncomfortable, can’t-walk-down-the-stairs soreness, I don’t want to feel that way again. If I just stay with it, I’ll have periodic soreness after a hard day, but the overall way I feel and look will be better than any temporary discomfort.
Experimentation - Find what works for you, where you are. I talk about powerlifting because that’s an extreme example. I’ve done it all, and what works for me is very dependent on where I am in life. I love a group fitness class when I want to be with people, Peloton cycling when I want to listen to music, sing and yell along with an instructor, or squeeze in a workout in 20 minutes. A long walk before/after school pickup/drop-off is a great mental reset. Yoga to stretch, breathe and be present (and sometimes to do a lot of pushups, depending on the class!).
Next time, on WTAF
In the next issue of WTAF I’ll explore the next two elements of the framework: Advocacy & Expansion. [Update: you can read Part 2 at the link below!]
Empowerment (Part 2 of 2): Growing Our Power
Until then, I’ll leave you with a song I heard this week that has been part of my daily soundtrack - Energy Follows Thought by Willie Nelson:
For more info on the concepts of volatility and uncertainty (and complexity and ambiguity), see the vast research on the acronym VUCA. Here’s one short primer: https://hbr.org/2014/01/what-vuca-really-means-for-you