“The first shall be last and the last shall be first” – Biblical saying.

Lets talk about equality. The idea of  winners and losers is just an illusion created by a self-perpetuating global society that feeds on economic power which is nourished by competition. Yet notions of “better than” and “not good enough” not only pervade the market place but also underpin our personalities. We are constantly comparing ourelves to other people and things.

All feelings of superiority and inferiority are fear based responses initiated by parts of our frightened personalities. We have created these personalities as a response to external experiences and they are intended to keep us safe. They are our armour against the slings and arrows cast by others or ourselves. In point of fact we are our own worst critics!

When interacting with other people and even in our self-generated internal dialogue the frightened parts of our personalities swing between feelings of superiority and inferiority depending on how we perceive the other person or thing we are relating to. We automatically resort to the aggressive/defensive weapons we have at our disposal when fear takes hold.

 If we feel superior we can become condescending, judgmental, intolerant, discriminatory, dogmatic and aggressive. If we feel inferior we can become guilt ridden, pleasing, victimlike, withdrawn, passively aggressive.

Yet these attempts to feel safe are illusory and temporary because of course we have little direct control over our extenal environment and in some circumstances our reactivity can make matters a whole lot worse. In the final analysis we are only distracting ourselves from the pain we feel as a consequence of our base fear (our feelings of powerlessness). An externally based reaction to what is an internal problem serves only as a temporary distraction.

We need to recover our authentic power base rather than give away our power to others and external events. This is an inside job.

The first step in this recovery process is to catch yourself when you are caught up in a personality type which would normally run on automatic and dictate your reactivity to certain stimuli. The best way to achieve this is through observing how you are feeling in your body. Discomfort will manifest in certain parts of your body when you are in the grip of a fear based personality driven reaction. Focusing on this area of discomfort will help you to be aware and break the unconscious trance you have slipped into. Once awareness is achieved you are then free to choose your response. This of course will take practice. Be patient with yourself.

This is where your authentic power base resides – the freedom to choose a response in any situation. You can choose to express a love based response or any other response your like. The difference is that you are the one who has made the decision and you are responsible for all the consequences of that decision.

You are no longer a victim. You have become a victor! You have transformed your fear of powerlessness into the reality of  authentic power.

You have become free at last.