3 Hidden Powers of Powerlessness: Create a New Way Forward Starting Right Away

I held a machete against his throat.

Otherwise, I felt powerless.

I couldn’t get him to leave us alone.

I believe we were 12 years old at the time.

I’m 42 now, and I’m 99% sure I would not do that again.

But I could be wrong, because feeling powerless is one of the most powerful feelings I’ve dealt with.

Let’s talk about the power of powerlessness.

If for no other reason than the feeling of powerlessness can move people to do such harm.

It can also move people to great power for good.

The feeling of powerlessness can be overwhelming.

Imagine facing an actual oppressor, abuser, or gaslighter where the truth itself can’t change the situation.

Or, imagine that you’re noticing a pattern your mind is using terrorizing you, where the emotional habit is stronger than real facts.

Is there anything more panic-inducing than a total lack of control in a situation that should be easy?

So first things first. Take a deep breath if you’re feeling a lot right now.

Maybe two?

Because if you keep reading, we’re going to unpack the powers that emerge as you breathe into your feelings of powerlessness.

Stuck feelings are why we stay stuck, after all. Let them move so you can move forward.

When you let your feelings of powerlessness move, you are mastering the first power of powerlessness: Allowing.

When you allow things to be as they are IN YOU, you can face the reality of things as they are OUT THERE.

Maybe there will always be people with wants and desires and commitments and high hopes that are different from yours.

Those differences and conflicts must become deeply okay if we’re doing to focus our efforts and powers on something that matters.

It must become profoundly okay inside you for things outside you to be not okay.

That’s the second power of powerlessness: Acceptance.

With acceptance, you can build. We can build. A future can be built.

I bet that, like me, you have experienced moments of powerlessness.

I imagine that, like me, you’ve dreamed of changing the system for the better.

I want you to change the world, of course. To channel your vision and hurt and experiences and intuitions into a project that will inspire others with love and hope and results.

In the meantime, I invite you to find a way to embrace the feeling of powerlessness. Breathe. Feel. Allow. Accept.

Which leads us to the third power of powerlessness.

Is it Action? No, as obvious as that might be.

Is it Love? No, there’s some truth there, but it’s not pragmatic enough. Actually, love is a power that runs through Allowance and Acceptance and the third… which is…

Advancement.

Notice how your heart and body, spirit and soul simply long to advance.

Every call to the higher road is a call to advance the human condition through example or action, through good works or care.

As you expand your capacity to advance, you do so by tolerating the core feeling of powerlessness. That advances your power.

But you have to let go of control.

Exactly how you and I advance our life-affirming visions will be revealed as we allow, accept and advance beyond an intolerance of powerlessness.

We’d be able to advance with what is ours to do, our curiosity and passion and purpose. To let each other be while letting each other contribute.

Imagine not collapsing, not blaming, not projecting.

Imagine sustaining love, empathy and commitment.

Before we end, let’s take a brave look at intolerance to powerlessness.

What feeling won’t you allow to be?

What flavor of powerlessness is clogging your nervous system, trapped in your bones?

How do you relate to it?

How has it shown up for you?

What have you done about it?

What is it you imagine, in your sweet and innocent heart, that you should be able to do but can’t, that should be different but won’t, that should or shouldn’t be but isn’t?

Breathe.

Allow.

Accept.

Advance.

It is possible that you have no idea and it is possible you’re crystal clear.

I have a hunch you’re feeling something you haven’t fully felt yet and as you allow it, you’ll see something different in the world or in yourself. Great work.

Within minutes, hours and days, your consciousness will advance. You’ll know what to do, you’ll notice synchronicities, you’ll feel more aligned.

Powerlessness can lead to power, for bad or good.

What will you choose?

This path means deep work for you, I’m sorry to say.

I believe it’s worth the reward.

I understand and forgive the 12 year old me who held a machete up to that other kid’s throat. For the me who felt so powerless. I now have capacity to have empathy for that action AND know how unhelpful, wrong and powerless that choice was. There are no excuses AND I didn’t have the words, the capacity, the communication. There was so much I didn’t know then. I’m glad nothing worse happened than the situation resolved safely. 

Today, what is possible?

Love and Action. Allowance and Acceptance. Advancing for a better world for better lives.

We can start right now, wherever we are.

Because you have that power.

The love of doing what’s yours to do.

Can you feel it?

Can you let yourself have that much power?