The Tribune

Life is change. Change, therefore is our nature. However, having been raised to play it safe and conform to the status quo, many struggle to change themselves, even when it’s critical to their own empowerment.

I believe that the famous Serenity Prayer, authored by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, is a central ingredient for a sense of empowerment. You must have the capacity to accept the things you cannot change and be encouraged to change the things you can.

This is only possible, however, if you also have the wisdom to know the difference. So while many are hungry for some kind of change, they often haven’t taken time to assess their capacity to change. In many instances they are waiting and looking out there for someone or something to change. Then, and only then, will they live life in an empowered way.

This strategy is problematic right from the jump. Because change, the kind that really positively impacts your life, is not dependent on someone or something out there changing. Instead, the changes that make the difference are those crucial changes you make within yourself.

The Serenity Prayer is clear. It starts with, “Grant me the serenity”. Having the serenity means that whatever changes you are seeking lie within you. You therefore must not only be the change, but come to accept that you indeed are the change. Just give that last sentence a minute to settle into your spirit.

We are often so burdened by feelings of not being good enough that it is not always easy to see ourselves in such a powerful light. Having struggled early in my life with similar disempowering feelings, I totally understand this position.

I also know for sure that ridding yourself of such low self-esteem is almost impossible without some kind of self-empowerment intervention. This means that you must be willing to do the inner work to face your fears and fix your feelings.

As I learned to navigate my challenging circumstances, it became very apparent to me that something deep within me kept expanding. It was my capacity. Through the path of personal growth I consistently built my capacity to change and empower my life.

The only way you can truly experience the change that you desire is to build your capacity to change. The word capacity is defined as, “the total amount that can be contained or produced”.

This definition infers then that the more you increase your capacity. The more you can not only contain and produce, but also the more you can become. Capacity, in a nutshell, is everything. Everything that becomes anything does so because it has the capacity to do it. You are no different.

The challenge, however, is whether or not you know your capacity.

It is all well and good to want to live an empowered life, but you must have the capacity to do so. As such, by assessing or evaluating your capacity, you come to recognise that there are no limits to building your capacity.

In so doing you increase your ability to learn more, grow deeper and become a better master of your life.

Leader to leader, take time to assess your capacity to change and commit to increasing your capacity. Begin this process by embracing the words of the Serenity Prayer.

By learning to accept the things you cannot change and changing the things you can, you gain the wisdom to live an empowered life. Yes, you can do it.

What do you think?

• Michelle M Miller is a certified life coach, communication and leadership expert. Visit www.michellemmiller.com; mail can be sent to PO Box CB-13060.