What has the power to influence?

POWER Vs CONTROL / EMPATHY Vs COMPASSION – Which one has the power to influence?

Power– can show up in many different forms.  When it comes to stepping into your own personal power, this is an incredibly transformative experience.  But when it comes to using power against other people – this can have an incredibly damaging effect.

Power is the ability to do something or act in a particular way.

Power from one person to another can be wielded through the possession of control, domination, command, authority, or influence over others

Control - When this is used for yourself, to regulate and manage your emotions and state, this can have a highly beneficial effect. But if it comes to using control against others, to affect their free will and bend them to someone else’s commands, this can lead to so many problems.  

Empathy– The ability to understand and share the feelings and thoughts of another person and from their point of view.  Empathy is such a crucial life skill.  Most people can learn the skills and requirements to do anything, but being able to interact harmoniously with other people truly makes a difference to so many peoples lives.  

Compassion– Showingothers sympathy and concern for their situation and experiences.  You may feel motivated to want to relievetheir suffering and assist to improve their situation.  

Compassioncan be given to others through;

• Speaking with kindness
• Apologizing when mistakes have been made
• Listening carefully and without judgment and criticism
• Encouraging other people
• Offering to help someone
• Being happy for someone else's success and building     them up
• Accepting people for who and how they are and     meeting them at the level they are at

So, out of power, control, empathy and compassion, which one has thebest chance of influencing others?

Influence is the capacity to have an effect on something or someone.

Power and control can be used to influence others out of a fear-basedmindset.  Feeling that a strong power andcontrol needs to be used to get someone to do something the other person wantsthem to. All this leads to is bitterness, resentment, criticism and judgement.

Empathy and compassion are used to understand others and allow them to be guided to a common solution and goal and influenced in a positive and united way.

Imagine; You have a goal that you are working towards and you need to get your team onboard, or it could even be you want to unite your family towards something. By coming from a place of love, empathy and compassion you are able to tap into each other’s thoughts and feelings and it much easier to align with and understand each other.  This helps to reduce conflict and unite through a common understanding.

OR - you are nice to a stranger and show them empathy & compassion.  You may not know what they are going through and they may be having a hard time.  You taking the time to be nice and give them empathy and compassion can turn around their day. They could then go home in a better mood and lift up and influence those around them to also elevate their mood and state.

You never really know what another person is going through, so taking the time to give empathy and act with love and compassion can truly make a positive ripple effect onto someone, without you even realising it!

What are your favourite ways of sharing empathy and compassion for others?

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