What does 'empowerment' mean to you?

The modern buzzword- empowerment! This is a huge one for me (of course). I'm wondering if those celebrities think they are empowered because of talent and ability or the riches it brought. Are they empowered because they have money and celebrity, not especially, but they are, because of money and celebrity, able to do things that everyday people could never even dream of doing. So they are able to do anything. Some may feel or be empowered but not all. Fame and fortune in my opinion don't empower you. For everyday people such as myself what empowers me is myself.(you had to see that one coming) My drive and ambition coupled with a newly harmonious balance I have found, empowers me. People who love and support you lend themselves to the growth of your empowerment but initially it has to start from within. The same holds true for education or your career, only you can make your life what it is. You empower yourself by having ambition and then going forth to put that into play throughout aspects of your life. Attack everything as if you are hungry and need to be fed. The problem is that people choose one aspect to attack and not the whole picture. They haven't found that harmonious balance that empowers the soul. They give more to one aspect of life than to the other. This is where balance comes into play. Without balance your floating from one place to another- sharing that drive unequally when it needs to be equal and balanced. Only then can you get over the feelings of being great with your family and lacking in career..when you feel you are lacking in aspects, it drags you down and I suspect would take away any feelings of empowerment that you may have. I'm a firm believer (now) in internal balance. There is immense power in balance if we know how to use it. Have a great day and as always I loved this one.:)

Empowerment is a big buzzword although it is not a new term. I learned that it evolved in the 17th century, where its legalistic meaning was “to invest with authority, authorize.” It can hold different meanings depending on the political as well as sociocultural context in which this term is applied. It is both relevant at an individual level when applied to one’s life, or collective level when referring to relations between poor people and those at the global level. It can sometimes also be applied to relations within households and offices, where one can say someone is empowered (i.e. given the power) to act or take initiative such as making business recommendations or decisions. I think the two most common definitions focus on: a. matters relating to the gaining of power and control over one’s decisions and resources, which in turn determine the quality of one’s life. b. structural inequalities affecting entire social groups or communities, eg. poor people, rather than individuals, which disadvantages them and make them more powerless in improving their lives. At the individual level, someone who is empowered is able to increase his authority and exercise his control over the resources and decisions that affect his own life. Being empowered means a person has a sense of personal power. He is able to exercise real choices for himself and he is secure about who he is. No matter what life may throw at him, he has the ability to handle any adversity because of choices he can make, and come out a better and more knowledgeable person. Others see his self-confidence and look up to him for leadership and guidance. They view him as someone trusted and with integrity, and these qualities draw people to him. He then not only is able to control his own life, but he can also influence the actions of others who look up to him. In the social group level, the focus is on poor people whose choices are extremely limited unlike individual empowerment. Poor people lack assets and resources, and therefore are powerless to negotiate for themselves better terms with institutions and authorities in order to improve their lives and destiny. Central to empowerment is the idea of power. Empowerment depends on whether that power can change or expand, and if it cannot and is inherent only in positions or people, then empowerment is not possible. With power comes the ability to make others do what we want, regardless of their wishes. Poor people, by virtue of their lack of assets and resources, are not empowered to exert influence and control over their lives. In summary, empowerment is a social process which helps people gain control over their own lives. It fosters power in people for use in their own lives, within their communities and their society.

I think it has to come up from with in yourself. IF you dont have it with in you , you would have to wrok very very hard to feel this way. and it really has to grow with time. to bring that all the way up out of yourself and to keep it there

I only found this word out when I started working with kids and went on to study child development. For me 'empowerment' means to be in control of ones life. To be able to get through the rough with the smooth without crumbling at the first hurdle. Resilience is the name of the game. Throughout our lifes we will go through many situations, different emotions but with 'empowerment' this will make sure we come out strong on the otherside. In my work I try to empower the kids I work with and in my own life I try to do the same. Some people see it as an arrogance, but for me it is all about protecting ones self and having the balls to stand up to those who want to take our power away. For me this has nothing to do with being over confident or arrogant. it is all to do with self protection and not letting harm come our way. I often think about the many cases of child abuse. If we took the time to stop scaring our kids about stranger danger and empowered them to know what feels right from wrong and give them the voice to express their feelings, this would be one sure way to stop what is going on. For me it has to start at an early age, empowering someone to know themselves has to be one of the greatest gifts we can ever taech another person.

you know, empowerment is such a trigger word these days and it has never set right with me. It is used in such a confrontational manner and lacks charity. I just do not like it or what it has come to represent.

Hi Raia, I have never watched Celebrity Apprentice, in fact I watch very little TV. I feel that all true empowerment comes from within, and have always thought so. It is, as you say, a strong confident sense of self, but it is more than that. It is not something easy to explain. It will be good to read what others have to say. Blessings.

First... it means to pull the dictionary out to find what that big word means... lol For me... empowerment means being good at what you do... which in turn gives you confidence and make you feel good about yourself. In that sense... I have always felt empowered in my life... due to the fact that I have been self employed since the age of 21. I was always in control of my destiny... even when people tried to de-rail me. I think empowerment comes from a creative mind, the will to learn about what you need to know... and most importantly... the confidence of taking a decision without asking anyone "You think I should do this?" or "Can I do this". You see the problem... you take the bull by the horns... and you fix the problem. That is what give you empowerment. If it was not for my agoraphobia which slow me down... I would have had ten times more power than I have today. Maybe someone up there did not want me to be that powerful. lol He got scare... lolh

For me empowerment comes from a mix of what is within, self esteem, confidence, and what is outside, achievements, leading roles, how we are perceived and how we perceive ourselves . I confess that, maybe due to things that are still unresolved from a long time ago, sometimes I tend to feel more empowered - confident - in my professional life, my outside life, than in my family life.

Forgive me, perspectives, but two things pop into my brain when I hear the word "empowerment": psychobabble and wasted money. Empowerment, by definition, describes the act of granting power to a weaker being by their betters. I will TAKE the power I need to accomplish my ends, thank you very much. One measure of character that I value is good old fashioned gumption, the ability to drag myself up and keep moving forward no matter how many times I get knocked down. Few people who sit and wait for someone else's permission actually get what they want. Self-empowerment is just bad semantics. It's a lousy phrase some "empowered" individual coined to sell more books, tapes, seminars, whatever. It doesn't mean a damned thing in the real world where everyone has to fight for their right to live. I think of wasted money because of all the so-called "urban empowerment zones" that made billions of dollars for developers while failing to provide places for the working poor to live. Geez, now that you made me think about it, I'm going to add empowerment to my list of words that should be stricken from the language. Thanks for the push to my brain train!

Do I feel empowered in the life I am leading? Most of the time (I think). Do I feel empowered in some aspects but not in others? Sometimes. Varies with time of day/tiredness/quantity of junk food eaten. Do I think true empowerment comes from within? Absolutely. Is it a strong, confident sense of self? Definitely. Is it about what is achieved outwardly? Not so much. So ... now that you have FORCED me to stop and think about empowerment ... For me, true empowerment is very personal and very much comes from knowing the totality of the inner self. My point of empowerment at this time in my life is knowing that I will feel afraid again but that I will continue carrying out my plans for changing how I live my life. My personal empowerment comes from knowing that I must do what feels right for me regardless of the views, comments, and opinions of all others. If it feels right for ME, it IS right for ME. Personal empowerment cannot be measured from the outside. The degree of my empowerment can only be truly known by myself. Others might have a sense of it. But I am the only one who can be in the experience of it.

Hi Raia, Empowerment is my favorite word in the dictionary... Empowerment promotes change, the focus of change here is not about fighting the old but rather on building the new.