Who authorized you . . .

. . . to speak up?

. . . to act so confidently?

. . . to believe in yourself?

Who gave you the authority to . . .

. . . to advocate for yourself?

. . . to be open-minded to alternative ways of doing things?

. . . to defend and work with those whom you disagree?

Many see authority only as something to be acquired by achieving a specific role or position. This is a path to dis-empowerment. With this lens, authority can be viewed as a sort of supremacy (which is dangerously close to thinking one person has more value than another).

The sometimes forgotten authority, however, is the power each of us possesses to respond to our world any way we want. Our thinking and actions are always a choice.

We may not like what’s happening around us, but we don’t have to dislike what’s happening within us. To allow the acts of others to determine our experience is to forfeit our brilliance. (Which is precisely what’s needed to get us where we need to go.)

Exercise your barrier breaking authority. You are authorized to be you.