Tag Archives: empowerment

Start your journey to personal empowerment now

You want to be in control of your life, right? Personal empowerment enables you to make positive decisions, and to take action that will bring you closer to achieving your goals and ambitions.

Don’t just talk, make it happen

Thanks to Mind Tools we can start the process of personal empowerment right now. Here’s a summary of the process https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/personal-empowerment.htm

To become more self-empowered, use this four-step process:

Know Yourself: understand your motivations, and your strengths and weaknesses.
Identify Your Goals: identify the aspects of your life that are the most important to you, and where you can create meaningful change.
Develop Your Competencies: focus on the skills or qualities that will allow you to reach your goals.
Claim Your Space: take your first few steps! Then review and reflect on your achievements so far, and adjust your approach if necessary. If it’s appropriate, seek feedback from the people around you to ensure that you stay on track.

Re-ignite the positive force within you

But how? Personal Empowerment Exercises

The following techniques and exercises can help to support you during the self-empowerment process. Find the ones that suit you, and practice them regularly!
Journaling . Keeping a record of your progress enables you to see how far you’ve come – and to remember where you went wrong!
Cognitive restructuring . Challenging the beliefs that underpin a sense of powerlessness can enable you to view your situation in a different light.
The ABC Technique enables you to see the consequences of negative thought patterns, and to become more optimistic.
Affirmations . Repeating positive thoughts to yourself can give you a greater sense of well-being and self-belief.
Exercise . Take a walk. Go for a bike ride. Work out at the gym. When your body feels good, you feel good. And when you feel good, you’ll feel more powerful.
Find an inspirational role model. Learn how this person overcame his or her own challenges – if they did it, so can you.
Talk . If you need an instant boost, talk to a supportive friend or colleague and let them tell you how great you are!

We all need to feel empowered so start working on it. If you’re feeling helpless or confused consult a life coach, and Mind Tools has a vast library of courses that assist people to live and work better, empowering lives.

SA government must do better at development education and people-to-people links

With all the networking I’ve been doing over the past eight months, I’ve got to meet so many interesting people doing exciting things. I’ve been inspired, encouraged and learnt so much about how to improve the way I do things.

The highlight of last week (perhaps my year?) was the opportunity to meet people involved in the AusAID Australia Awards – Africa Programme. Ever heard of that? Well, let me enlighten you, as I was………. This is my short version, however, you can visit www.adsafrica.com.au or http://www.ausaid.gov.au/australia-awards if you want more information.

The Australian government, through its Agency for International Development (AID), has been working very hard and investing millions in its efforts towards achieving the UN’s Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) of eliminating poverty and hunger, improving health, gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability, as well as creating global partnerships. It has shown its commitment by giving assistance in these areas to over 145 developing countries. Examples include delivery of: sanitation and clean water supply programmes in African countries like Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa; measles and polio immunization programmes in Papua New Guinea; building a bridge across the Mekong River giving marginalized people in East Asia more mobility and accessibility to economic opportunities.

AusAID works with governments of developing countries to improve the way they deliver social, economic and community services. Through partnerships and policy dialogues with specific organisations, clinics and schools are built, advice and training is given; management systems are put in place – all with a view to improving crucial services and empowering people.

Enter the Australia Awards… The Australian government provides funds for educational and training opportunities for key people who take up scholarships in Australia where they study and develop skills that empower them to contribute to capacity and skills building and leadership on their return to their home countries. In this way these awardees, with potential to be future leaders, change-makers and advocates for a better life – socially and economically, promote the development and improvement in the quality of health, educational, social and civic services and make a difference to their communities and their countries.

There is a message in this: If the Australian government can implement a development education and training initiative in Africa, surely the South Africa government can too? Let’s follow their lead.

As communities explode over lack of services delivery and as over 20,000 South African matriculants prepare to enter the working world, it behoves leaders in business, education and civic organisations to get into gear on urgent dialogue, action and proactive partnerships to speed up reform of skills development and training programmes to increase job creation, reduce poverty, improve service delivery, energise our economy and develop good citizens.