In order for me to have any idea what I really wanted for my life, I had to have at least an idea of who I really was. For a good part of my adult life I've been confused about the answer to that but didn't even know I was confused.
I had accepted what other people told me I was beginning with my parents, then my friends, then my spouse, then my children. It wasn't until much later that I realized that who I thought I was was an amalgam of other people's perceptions. Then I started reading books and taking personality tests.
Everything I learned was helpful. My favorite personality tests are Enneagram and the Myers-Briggs. I highly recommend taking them. They're fairly easily accessible on line. The part that interested me the most was that when I took them more than once, separated by a considerable period of time, they came out quite differently.
Personality tests made me think about how I really behaved, how I made choices, how I changed from one kind of situation to another. That was very helpful because I could also identify which situations were the most enjoyable and which were the least enjoyable.
Of course, personality tests were far from the only options for learning about myself. Some of the books I read suggested looking at magazines in order to identify what types of outdoor scenes stuck out to me and what type of interiors caught my attention. What seemed odd to me at the time, but doesn't any more, was that whether indoors or outdoors, I was strongly drawn to scenes that looked peaceful to me.
My attraction to peacefulness began to show up in my clothing choices - calm colors, clothes with no patterns. Little by little I began to change my surroundings in small ways to reflect my attraction to peacefulness.
After awhile I realized that peacefulness was what I wanted at the center of my life and for the foundation for my life. Then I had a real goal. Something that lifted my heart and gave me direction. The more I worked toward peacefulness as a goal, the more I loved my life.
Empowerment enhances the ability of individuals or organizations to make choices and transform those choices into positive outcomes. Empowered people have recognized their own value and strength and their capacity to handle life's problems. In turn they are better able to influence the course of their lives. With information and support, most people can find within themselves the power to direct their lives and reach their dreams.
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