Personal sovereignty necessitates self-awareness, wisdom and authenticity.
- Self-awareness is the recognition and understanding of our own individuality. Who are we? What do we actually believe, deep down in our soul? What triggers us and why? What compels us to skirt the truth or step out of integrity? Why do we seek approval or feel insecure? What can cause us to surrender our principles? Where do we draw the line? What are we afraid of?
- Wisdom is realizing the effects of our past decisions and humbly using those insights to refine our present day choices, actions and behaviors. It is the lingering discretion we gain from a previous mishap, challenge, hardship or heartbreak.
- Authenticity is the quality of being genuine; our true, organic selves. It is the stripping away of indoctrinations, masks, facades and social personas and simply being who we are without apprehension. It is the courage to be vulnerable and the will to stand confident in our convictions.
Waking up, rubbing the sleep from our eyes, and realizing the amount of irrationality we have been fed throughout our lifetime that has shaped our beliefs and personal identity, is life-altering. This awakening is the first step toward freeing ourselves. It is the pivotal point when we turn our focus inward and begin retracing our steps back to our root origin, rediscovering who we really are and what we actually hold true, independent of extrinsic conditioning.
Personal sovereignty is not about battling outside controls, but about restoring inner mastery. It means the right to choose, while recognizing our interconnection with that which is greater than ourselves. By reclaiming our individual freedom and aligning with our innermost truths and values, we will no longer be swayed by external forces but rather, will follow our own internal compass and restore authority over our lives. This endeavor requires discernment - the ability to distinguish fact from fiction in a complex world. It requires versatility and foritude as we maneuver our way through this transformational, revitalizing journey from dependency to self-empowerment.
Taking full responsibility for our lives, is the foundation of personal sovereignty. In order to do so, we must have a deep understanding of ourselves - our beliefs, core values, fears, passions, needs, wounds, strengths and vulnerabilities. Through self-reflection and inner evaluation, we strengthen this foundation by facing our fears, questioning our beliefs, healing our afflictions and being explicitly honest with ourselves throughout the process. By shedding the layers of conditioning imposed on us by society and those around us, we bring to light our true nature. This is what standing in our power means. Until we take this step, we will continue to be easily influenced, look outside ourselves for answers, play victim, feel insecure, blame others, seek validation, oscillate in our stance and avoid truths that are staring us right in the face. Put simply, we will remain unstable. We have to KNOW who we are before we can stand firmly without swaying!
The path to personal sovereignty leads us back to our power.