What Do You Want The Power To Do?

What do you want the power to do? That is well known banks advertising slogan and branding. An interesting question that we probably have been asked in one form or another. Maybe as kids we talked about what superpower we would want to have. Perhaps we’ve played the game Would You Rather.

“Would you rather be able to fly or have x-ray vision?”

“Would you rather jump over buildings or have super human strength?”

There’s no real correct answer to those questions and it can make for some great discussion. The branding this bank uses really bothers me though. Why is a bank asking us this question? By asking that question they imply that by banking with them they can give us the power to do whatever we might dream to do. By them giving us money, we can live the best life possible. That without them and their money we just cant do anything.

People live their lives believing that. Maybe you do yourself. This world and this life is so much more though than money and acquiring. We can spend a lifetime trying to get money and acquire things that we miss out on basic things that can bring us so much more happiness and satisfaction. Not just temporary happiness and satisfaction either. We can be so focused on money and acquiring that we fail to see that we have the power to do anything on our own. I’m not sure why more people do ask that question of themselves. What do I want the power to do?

So what do you want the power to do? Think on a basic level. Don't think big about things like homes, car, vacations, gadgets. Think simply. What about the power to start practicing beneficial habits? Maybe you want the power to love better. Having meaningful relationships is something that can take some power to create and maintain. Its these basic things that we think about and focus on that can create even more power and confidence within ourselves to accomplish so much more than we can even imagine.

Where do we get this power from? We obviously cant get those type of things by purchasing them or getting a loan from our bank. We get this power from within. We create the power ourselves. No one can do that for us. It’s actually a scary thing to come to this agreement and understanding.

Since it can be a scary thing, we sometimes sit around and wait for others to do it for us. I have news for you. If thats you and your situation, you'll be waiting for a long time. Not only will you be waiting for a long time but you'll be largely disappointed. You’ll be disappointed in other people you thought would do things for you. More importantly you’ll also be disappointed in yourself. Why do so many people think they can just sit around and wait for people to create things for them? To give them the power to have the life they want? The happiness that they desire?

Yes sometimes it can be fear. Fear of the unknown. Fears that we are unsure of what we can actually accomplish. That fear can cause us to think that that we don't truly have it in us. We don't have the confidence in ourselves that we have the power to do something that we would really like to do. Ideally we would be taught from a young age that we can accomplish anything. Unfortunately, too often that isn't the case. We believe that we have limitations. Not that parents, family or friends would purposely do that to us. Yes, there are some that do that and thats a whole other challenge in itself. That’s definitely the minority though. We generally do this to ourselves. We have an experience where we feel limited as to what we can do. We think that we cant try any more than we did, that our power to do something was actually limited. We succeed, barely, and feel bad about ourselves that we didn't do better. Every single time this happens and we think this way, we create and build limits in ourselves. To limit the power we have to do more or even anything at all in some cases. We start to think we will just leave it to other people to do because they can do it better. That is a terrible mistake.

How do we avoid this? Don't look at what we can’t do. We just don't know how to do those things yet. We can though if we put forth the effort and try to circumvent our perceived limitations. Always remember that we aren't going to be great at everything. That’s just a basic human limitation in our limited amount of time that we have. Know that going in when we try something new or accomplish a project we aren't familiar with. If we do, it will be easier to not focus on how we fall short if we do. It will be easier knowing that if we fail, we didn't know exactly how things would work out to begin with. It makes it easier to accept. We can focus on the good things we did and build on them. Then try again. Maybe we need to do some more research first. Maybe we need to talk to someone who has some more experience. No shame in that. Take in more knowledge and then try again with what you’ve learned. When we take those steps and have the right perspective, we start to build confidence. We start to appreciate what we can do and have the possibility to do, not what we can't do or don't know how to do.

We all have the ability to give ourselves the power to do anything. We don't need a bank to convince us that money gives us the power to do anything. We don't need other people to successfully do things and use their power for us. No. Its simply up to us no matter how scary that might be. That ability is inside all of us. Unlock it and use it to its full potential. If we do, when someone asks us what we want the power to do, we can know that we have the power to do just about anything we want. The next question is … will you?