The Mother of All Superpowers

Some things can never be taken away from you. One is your power of choice. You will always have the freedom to choose your attitude and your response to any situation.

The concept of switching on your power of choice is not new. Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist and well known Auschwitz survivor, made it famous by founding Logotherapy.

Your ability to activate your power of choice may be the mother of all superpowers.

If the freedom to choose your attitude and response has not yet become second nature to you, then there’s one way to flick on the switch to your power of choice.

Next time you find yourself in a tight spot, all you need to do to shift your mindset is to ask your self: How can I see this differently?

As soon as you do this, you move your self out of a victim mindset and into one that levels up your self-agency.

You could choose to think of a tight spot as an opportunity to train your brain to respond in a more constructive way. You might choose to own this freedom by taking responsibility for your part – no more and no less – in the situation, and the consequences. And then you could choose to separate yourself from it all.

Obviously, these are conscious acts. It would be a conscious decision to choose your attitude and your response. And you would need to acknowledge that the quality of your experience depends on your ability to recognise when you need to be subjective and when you need to be objective.

Taking things personally is a decision you make, consciously or not. Taking things personally can get in the way of being an objective witness. Unless you know how to channel your subjective energy in an objective direction. By that I mean, you’re able to take charge of the energy the drives your anger, for example, and to channel it in a constructive manner, and in the right direction.

To begin to separate your self from the situation, it might be easier to start by being your own witness. As the author, Eckhart Tolle suggests, ‘To be there as the witness of your mind.’

Your parents knew what they were talking about when they told you to watch what you were doing.

If you want to switch on your power of choice, then start by watching yourself. Be more conscious. Keep watching yourself.

Reference

Tolle, E 2004, The power of now: a guide to spiritual enlightenment, Hachette Livre, Sydney.