How cool is it to have the Ambassador of Happiness® in the house? That’s Maura Sweeney, speaker, author, podcaster and creator of the Foundations of Happiness eCourse, who shares globally her “good news” perspectives on living happy (and powerfully) from the inside out.
As a guest on my live Little White Lie Show, Maura’s own power and energy and enthusiasm were enough to make me a believer!
So the question to Maura – and our LWL Community – is… “How can you feel powerful at any age?”
Maura: “I think many women hear the word ‘power’ or ‘powerful’ and they conjure up these ideas of what men look like who are powerful. They think of domineering, they think of taking over … I’ve had women tell me that when they got into the workforce they started taking on all of those same attitudes.
“For me, power has nothing to do with domineering or taking over other people. It’s the whole idea of living inside your own energy, and then exuding it everywhere you go.”
Your energy is your power. I love that!
Now, you know I’m a take-action structure girl, so I had to ask, “Are there steps to developing your power?”
“Is there a checklist to feel powerful at any age?”
- Spend a little bit of time every day by yourself and with yourself. “Do you know that most of us are getting all of our ideas from everybody else? And then we mistake their ideas for our ideas, their values for our values, and their stuff for our stuff.” Then, whose life are we living when we do that? So Maura suggests spending even just a couple of minutes each day alone to ask yourself: “What do I feel good about right now? What am I enjoying? What makes me feel disempowered?” Practice doing the things that bring you joy; and stop doing the things that take away your power.
- In every situation, ask yourself: “Am I making myself into a victim or am I turning myself into a beneficiary?” “More than anything,” says Maura, “this has carried me through life, because as a little child I used to feel like a victim.” She learned how to turn that victim mindset to a beneficiary mindset. Practice saying to yourself: “I may not like where I am right now, but whatever it is, it is working together for something good.” You are getting some benefit from the experience.
- Get out of your comfort zone. “If you want to know your power, step out of your comfort zone. So many of us have an idea, maybe we’re creators, maybe there’s something we never did before, and we stop ourselves from doing it. Practice giving yourself permission to step out of the comfort zone. Just say: “I’m going to give it a whirl.” You know why? It’s in the doing of it that we get our power. “We lose our fear, we overcome insecurities, we become forgiving of ourselves, we grow in knowledge and natural confidence.”
Awesome steps to take for any of us, at any age, no matter what our Little White Lie is, to feel powerful and to create an amazing, happy life.
So, aren’t you wondering how Maura became Ambassador of Happiness®?
Well, here’s the story:
“I was invited to speak at the inaugural Nelson Mandela Day celebrations outside our nation’s capitol, hosted by the UNESCO Center for Peace. They wanted to know my title to introduce me, and I told them I just use my name. But they said, ‘Oh, we have to give you a title.’
They learned that I traveled the world, I was a uniter, I wrote about what makes us feel happy from the inside out. And they said, ‘We’ve got it, you’re the Ambassador of Happiness!’ Once people heard it, they said, ‘Maura, that’s exactly what you are.’ It’s now trademarked, so I’m official!”
Not only is it an awesome story but it’s a great example of the power of the mind. Because even as a little girl, Maura actually envisioned herself as a goodwill ambassador. “I didn’t have the title for it, yet I think everything I ever did was in preparation for these things I’m doing today. So, yes, I made it up out of my own mind.”
Powerful, isn’t it?
Parting wisdom for us from Maura: “There will never be another you, and the world has been waiting for you. So, what things do you have within you that you want to explore, that you want to express? Give yourself permission today to do those things … And if you don’t give yourself permission, know that I just gave it to you.”
You can follow Maura Sweeney here: http://maura4u.com/
As always, let’s keep this important conversation going – powerful at any age – yes!
Here’s how:
Share your answers, questions, thoughts.
Join our new Facebook Group, The Little White Lie Network – engage, share, learn!
Don’t forget to use the hashtag #LWL
Stay tuned for the next issue of The Little White Lie Digital Magazine
Thanks for being part of the Little White Lie Movement!