As a psychotherapist-psychoanalyst-psychopharmacologist, with my toolbox of psychodynamics and my knowledge of psychopharmacology or a combination of both, I aim to empower individuals. Therefore, tackling the broad subject is not completely outside my ken.
We first learn about our personal power as toddlers. The toddler learns to say “no.” He has just achieved some kind of awareness that he exists as a separate person. He immediately begins to test the limits of his power. (Because he has no sense of limits or danger, he requires a vast amount of attention to keep him out of trouble.)
I’m a big believer in teaching people how to deal with the power of authority. As a psychotherapist, I hear stories from some who have no awareness of how and when they endanger themselves or their positions when they fail to recognize the power of authority and their vulnerability in the face of certain circumstances. To demonstrate, I share a personal experience.
A few years ago, I was inadvertently exceeding the speed limit on a Virginia highway and was pulled over by a very tall police officer in an Army-green uniform and a matching tall hat. He abruptly demanded that I get out of the car and put my hands high up in the air. Already a middle-aged woman of five feet and less than one hundred pounds, I felt he addressed me with an inappropriate tone of voice. I nearly told him so, but fortunately, quickly assessed the situation. Observing the pistols in their holsters and his hands not far from the triggers, I suppressed my impulse to speak. I don’t remember if he gave me a ticket or not, but I do remember how close I came to challenging his authority. This close encounter helps me empathize and caution others who might be confronted by authority when it is quite clear that they wouldn’t come out on the winning side.
Exercising our personal power follows avenues from innocent to deadly. Annoying another person is a display of rude, petty power. An example comes to mind of my behavior in ninth grade when I flew paper airplanes in algebra class. (The teacher refused to believe that a smart, usually polite student like me could be capable of this behavior.) Why did I “act out,” as we say in psychological terms? Because I was bored, I exercised an inappropriate, disruptive and annoyingly petty show of power. Bullying is another (too prevalent) example of exerting petty power over others out of a sense of powerlessness.
Today’s news reported a man on a motor scooter who rode by some bystanders and intentionally shot his pistol at them, killing one and injuring several others. This destructive power exercised by a desperate, deranged person is an example of someone who feels powerless in his life. Sadly, individuals who maim and/or kill others have gone astray in a society that has failed to recognize, redirect and show them how to achieve a personal sense of positive power.
Personal power implies a modicum of control over our minds, bodies and feelings. As individuals we usually choose to develop one or another brand. We may focus on brain power to become academicians or professionals. Athletes, of course, concentrate on bodily power. Artists and those involved in some kind of creative process hone the power of their feelings. Power over our environment is most highly developed in explorers of land, sea and air. These divisions are artificial: we each exert and integrate varieties of competence.
As I see it, the goal for each and every one of us is to own a sense of personal power without impinging on anyone else. If we do become powerful over others, the ideal goal is to use it constructively: to benefit humanity rather than ruling as a dictator or despot capable of killing to maintain power. Positive power over others is found in our great presidents.
Can we accomplish sufficient power in our lives without injury to others? This complicated question requires thought. For example, banning toxic chemicals to save the earth impinges on the revenue of the manufacturers of these substances. We can hope that these corporations will acknowledge and alter the nature of their products to aide rather than destroy. We can only anticipate that awareness helps us to direct our efforts to harness power in positive directions and minimize its negative potential.
Dear Reader, Thank you for reading this blog. Please send your thoughts and comments to me at: jsimon145@gmail.com
