3 Ways To Reconnect With Your Inner Strength

Even as a young child, I believed in the power of my own ferocity. I was perhaps seven or eight when I recognised I had this pool of ‘inner power,’ and I used it to climb a tree in front of the other kids.

I subsequently fell out, but we can gloss over that aspect for now…

Many explorations into inner strength focus on discipline, on physical exercise ability, or on ‘tempering’ the inner fire. But what I’m speaking of here is that inner pull, that spark which drives us forwards.

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1: Find Your Fire

One of the most common ways to identify that inner spark is to think of the situations and experiences which have tested us, which we are passionate about or get angry over.

As a young girl, I was discouraged from expressing anger. However, from a scientific point of view, anger is an innate intuition which tells us to change something. It’s motivational. Thus, often what drives us, and the core values behind that can fuel us.

I tried all kinds of ways to manage my fire growing up, from karate lessons (I reached green belt) and attending Anger Management courses, to writing poetry and making art about my feelings.

But something in me was always connected to this spring of ‘knowing’ that I had a role to play. That my fire was meant to enlighten, not destroy.

~ ASK YOURSELF ~

What drives you forward? How would you answer “why do you do this?” What answers were you seeking by clicking on this article?

Identify that, and you’ll find the embers ready to ignite.

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2: Aim Your Focus

One of the first steps to fan those flames is to focus on your values.

Looking back on the positive or exciting things in your life, what was the core value beneath the event or experience? For some, this is community. For others, it’s about truth and honour. For some things, it’s feeling valued or valuable.

There are a lot of resources to explore values, especially in the self-help space. I personally think of values as “what do I find important in this?” and “what do I gain from this experience?”

Thinking about the things in common with our favourite events or experiences can help us to identify those opportunities better in the past.

~ ASK YOURSELF ~

What ‘values’ do you care about in your life? Do you pick cheap over organic? Would you value a home-made drawing over your ‘wish-list birthday item?’ Identify your values and head towards them — prioritise living in tune with the things you feel are important — and you’ll fan the flames of your inner drive.

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3: Mix Dreaming with Doing

Once you know what motivates you to keep moving forward, and you’re able to find those opportunities to reconnect with the underlying values, the last step in connecting with your inner strength is to meld dreams with practicality.

It’s one thing to craft the vision, to imagine a future or to set the goal.

It’s another to craft the map, to design the path ahead and then walk it, step by step.

But dreams without action, stay dreams.

This is something I find comes naturally to me — I’m especially able to hear that a person wants X, for Y reason, and thus I can say “well Z would meet both of those needs right now, without having to believe in unicorns.”

This skill can be learned and improved — since you are the most expert person in your own life, desires, and capabilities. Of course, ask for support if you need it, but also don’t doubt your own power to know exactly what you need.

~ ASK YOURSELF ~

~ What baby step could you take to move forward? How are you meeting that goal and value already; and what’s the next tiny improvement you could tweak?

Because that choice of bravery and courage is another connection with your inner strength.

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In Conclusion

I’m not saying there isn’t a part for discipline and temperance in managing our inner strength, but without the deeper motivation, direction and action, progress is slow, if it happens at all.

Much like any process, being aware of what oils the machine, refills our well or how we tick can help us make the most informed, and thus often the best decisions for our path ahead.

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Originally published at https://sheisfiercehq.com in March 2018. It has been updated and edited for posting here in 2022.

If you would like to dive into these 3 steps in more detail to reinvent your life from the roots of who you already are (and the psychology of how your brain already works) sign up for the free guide to reinventing yourself here.)

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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