Dr. Keith's Pain-2-Power

Self-esteem depends on mastering one core concept. It's a leap of faith, really. And you can take that leap right now. Just hit "Play." 

What do you really GET for speaking your mind, even if so many people in America want to shut you up?  You get stronger.  You get a spine of steel.  Everything that works against resistance works better, in the end.  So, don’t be muzzled or (as Anthony Fauci did with dogs) have your vocal cords cut.  Say what you think.  Mean what you say.  And don’t back down for anyone.

Viktor Frankl, the great psychiatrist imprisoned for years in a Nazi death camp, gave us the tools to unlock the God-given, indestructible reservoir of power inside each and every one of us.  It can be tapped in the face of any amount of pain—if you know it’s there and resolve to use it.

There may be no pain greater than the pain of not being yourself—the person you were meant to be from all time.  The journey from pain to power is the journey that taps into your core, moves you onto the path to self-actualization and allows you to manifest your God-given gifts.  

When Simone Biles decided to not compete in several events at the Tokyo Olympics, she showed she is the only author of her life story and she set the stage for her comeback—in whatever way she chooses.  Remember:  Only YOU can write the next sentence, page or chapter of your own life story.  Pain-2-Power puts the pen in your hand—and only your hand.  

There are three key elements on how to love—another person or yourself.  They’re the essential triad of true love, in friendship, in family or in romantic love. No relationship is truly loving without them.  And no relationship that has all three can be anything less than true love.  

People talk about recreating themselves.  But that isn’t possible.  You are a creation of God, with unique talents and a unique destiny.  Instead, the goal of your lifetime is to re-embrace yourself.  Become the person you were meant to be from all time.

Why is it I say that sometimes 1 + 1 = 11 in the arithmetic of Pain-2-Power?  Because the power of a partnership — in love, business, politics or anything else—is transformational.  Partners inspire one another and collaborate with one another and reassure one another.  And none of that can be explained by science.  It’s mystical and immeasurable.  A miracle.

It isn’t weakness when a leader decides to take a different path than one he or she has planned; it’s strength.  Admitting that a new direction is called for, even when lots of work has been expended on the original plan, might be painful, but it’s ultimately a path to power.

It can be a bit painful to take a real and honest look at yourself and your goals and determine what you don’t know, but need to know, in order to achieve them.  After all, who wants to focus on shortcomings.  Well, you do.  Because that honest look is one of the most powerful tools you have to accomplish your goals.  

Regret is a normal human emotion.  But it should yield to insight into the reasons that things didn’t go your way.  And, then, it should be replaced by new dreams and the motivation to achieve them.  

People needlessly fear the past, thinking that looking back at what they’ve lived through will get them lost or stuck.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  All manner of buried treasure awaits those ready to explore  earlier chapters of their life stories and free themselves from unconscious, deeply rooted, negative patterns of emotion, thought and behavior.