Last night I watched part of a movie, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest; with nurse Ratched among a group of colorful characters. One of the actors, Jack Nicholson; played Randal McMurphy. Randal from what I understand pleads insanity to get out of going to jail / prison and believes he voluntarily committed himself to the state mental hospital, only to find out that he is there involuntarily. At one point in the movie, Randal; during a group session finds out that many of the individuals who he thought were surely involuntarily committed were there voluntarily and could leave at any time. To his amazement, he finds out that they are willing to stay at the state hospital — instead of having the freedom to do what they wanted with out the control of nurse Ratchet. McMurphy then tries to convince the men who are there voluntarily to leave to own their power and freedom beyond..
I have been thinking about the script of the movie. The men who wanted freedom could have left the hospital, instead of being controlled by nurse Ratched. Instead, they gave away their power to people who could not give them what they longed for — freedom. They gave away their freedom for a lower quality of life that was dictated by compliance to power of a medical team and the direction of Nurse Ratched. Although giving my power may not appear to be so obvious — as the men who gave away their power — I need to guard against giving my power away to people in my life. With this realization, I need to take proactive responsibility for my reactions to what people do or do not do in response to both my and their expectations. In the event that I start feeling helpless or like a victim, due to expectations, I need to own my power by examining why and what I can do to own my power.
“If I begin to feel helpless or like a victim, I need to take a closer look at why and what I can do to take back and own my power.” Craig J. Phillips MRC, BA
Giving away my power can be subtle, so I need to stay vigilant. Staying vigilant and being aware of when I am beginning to give away my power gives me the ability to take steps, to take back and own my power. Through owning my power, I am given the gift to exercise my ability to use my time and energy to create dreams in my life, as I talked about in my article Acceptance, Action and a Dream of a Second Chance on my other website, Create a Spark of Hope. Dreams that may seem foolish to some, but real to us. Dreams that did not die, because of the adversity we may be facing.
Below are several indicators and several ways that help me to take back and own my power each day.
Owning my Power by removing myself as victim by figuring out what I need to do to take care of myself, given the person or situation.
Owning my Power by dealing with anger and resentments, so that they do not continue to steal my time, energy and my ability to make healthy choices.
Owning my Power by not continuing to try to fix other people’s problems or attempt to control their behaviors.
Owning my Power by not taking on the responsibility for other people’s behavior and choices, when they attempt to blame me for their choices.
Owning my Power by taking responsibility for choices and learning from my choices.
Owning my Power by recognizing that I can’t know until I know and that is good enough.
Owning my Power by pursuing excellence, instead of perfection.
Owning my Power by celebrating small successes and gains in my recovery process and personal development.
Owning my Power by realizing that there is no such thing as failure, only an opportunity to learn.
Owning my Power by not blaming anyone for anything. With all learning, there is a learning curve.
Owning my Power by keeping the focus on myself, not on other people.
Owning my Power when people attempt to control and manipulate me and knowing that it is OK to feel anger and distrust, in addition to saying no to what they may want me to do or accomplish to fulfill their plan (s) or agenda (s).
Owning my Power by learning to trust my judgement, despite what other people may want me to believe about my circumstances and myself.
Owning my Power by accepting the things that I can not change, while changing the things that I can.
Owning my Power by not giving up on myself, when other people treat me like I don’t matter.
Owning my Power by realizing and remembering that I have great worth and value to a loving God.
Owning my Power by learning how to channel my passion in ways to enhance both my life and the lives people who are brought into my life.
Owning my Power by facing our own pain / issues so that we do not continue to be victimized by them.
Owning my Power by owning and taking responsibility for my pain, instead of waiting for some one to rescue or fix me.
Owning my Power by recognizing and detaching from people who seek to control and manipulate me, for whatever reason; through the use of shame and guilt.
Owning my Power by staying on my course and running my race, with out looking for approval or validation.
Owning my Power be recognizing that my circumstances are not meant to keep me down, but to build me up.
Owning my Power by developing my gifts, talents and abilities in ways that work for me.
Owning my Power by staying committed to my process and my journey, realizing that more will be revealed in time.
Owning my Power by learning to trust the process, a loving God and myself.
In my experience, as I own my power I am able to leave the “confinement” of a mental attitude that keeps me trapped believing that I have limited choices. Through working through my awareness, acceptance and action and by owning my power, I am given the freedom to explore beyond what a system may lead me to believe are my constraints. Through owning my power I am able to experience a freedom that I never knew existed beyond to experience hope in my life. Through owning my power I am given the opportunity of a second chance to dream dreams that I never knew existed beyond my deficits and limitations. By owning my power I no longer have to be dictated by individuals, who like “Nurse Ratched”; seek to own and control my power to achieve their ends and means. By owning my power, I am given the gift to use my time and energy on my own terms — each day.
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