Self-empowerment is the process of taking control of your life to make effective decisions that help you reach your goals.
Signs you could benefit from developing self-empowerment include being unable to set boundaries with others, comparing yourself to others, and having negative thoughts and self-talk.
To achieve self-empowerment, you can try engaging in positive self-talk, practicing mindfulness, and setting realistic goals.
Have you ever struggled with finding the motivation and confidence to achieve your goals? Then you may need to embrace self-empowerment. Self-empowerment is the process of taking control of your life to make effective decisions that help you reach your goals. This process can be extremely transformative and lead to personal growth.
People who are self empowered are usually more confident and have high self-esteem. This is because, through the process of becoming more self-empowered, you get to know yourself better. You learn your strengths and weaknesses, become comfortable navigating life’s difficult decisions, and create positive change in your life by implementing exercises and activities that help.
Why self-empowerment is so important
Self-empowerment plays a key role in mental health. When you feel more in control of your choices, it can reduce feelings of helplessness and improve your overall sense of well-being. You’re more likely to trust yourself, set boundaries, and take steps that support your goals.
It can also help you manage stress more effectively. Instead of feeling stuck or overwhelmed, you may feel more capable of handling challenges as they come up. Over time, this can lower anxiety and build emotional resilience.
Self-empowerment, in psychology, is linked to higher self-esteem and a stronger sense of identity. As you learn to rely on yourself and make decisions with confidence, you may feel more stable, motivated, and aligned with the life you want to build.
Signs you need to boost your self-empowerment
When you lack self-empowerment, you may feel powerless and have low self-esteem. Feeling powerless is usually the result of feeling as if you don’t have control over certain areas of your life, like your work, health, home, relationships, or finances. This can go hand-in-hand with low self-esteem, often decreasing your motivation to pursue your goals.
You may benefit from developing more self-empowerment if:
You’re unable to set boundaries with others.
You have frequent negative thoughts and engage in negative self-talk.
You feel excessively worried and regularly doubt yourself.
You have trouble making decisions without input from other people.
You focus excessively on pleasing other people, even if you have to sacrifice your own needs.
How to achieve your personal power
The foundation of self-empowerment is being able to trust yourself to make decisions and life choices that are beneficial to your overall goals. To build on that, the steps to self-empowerment will start with you recognizing that it’s an ongoing and intentional practice. It’s possible to develop self-esteem and self-empowerment over time with the right support. Therapy and psychiatry can also play an important role in this process by helping you better understand your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
As you work toward greater self-empowerment, you will gradually increase your self-awareness and self-confidence. If you want to build greater self-empowerment, try these strategies:
Acknowledging your achievements: Remind yourself that you can do great things by celebrating both your big and small wins. This will help you develop a belief in yourself and your ability to accomplish things. Use an “anchor item” that reminds you of your achievements, like a trophy you won or a picture from a family vacation that you saved for. These items will help remind you of your wins throughout the day.
Setting attainable goals: Help yourself see that you can do whatever you set your mind to by creating measurable goals. These are similar to the goals you make in therapy, where you set goals that you know you can achieve with time and dedication. In doing so, you will see progress and evidence of your success.
Avoiding comparison: We can often fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. Even though it can be a normal part of the growth process, it often comes with negative consequences, like devaluing our own achievements. If you must take a peek at others’ wins, do so in a way that allows you to learn, grow, and add value to your process.
Developing self-trust: Learning to listen to and trust ourselves can feel hard sometimes, but it’s a cornerstone to feeling empowered. Start by using mantras to provide additional support, like “I am learning to trust myself,” “I will listen to what my body is telling me,” and “even though this did not go as planned, I am proud of myself for taking brave action.”
Developing your skills: You most likely have amazing skills that can contribute positively to your life and the lives of others. By exploring what unique traits you have, like a love for woodworking, you can begin to feel more empowered by refining and utilizing them.
Being more assertive: Verbalizing your needs to others will enhance your relationships and your ability to have more control over various aspects of your life. You can do so by setting clear boundaries with others and holding firm when people try to cross them.
Using positive self-talk: If you’re engaging in negative thinking, use positive self-talk, like affirmations, to reframe your mindset. Changing how you think and talk to yourself will help you believe in yourself and what you’re capable of. Therapy can help you reframe negative self-talk and develop more self-compassion.
Practicing self-care: Developing self-care practices that help you be more mindful and focused on yourself will increase your self-awareness and self-acceptance.
Working with a therapist or psychiatrist: A therapist can help you build insight, challenge unhelpful patterns, and develop skills like emotional regulation and confidence. A psychiatrist may help address underlying symptoms, like anxiety or depression, that can make self-empowerment feel harder. Together, this support can make it easier to follow through on your goals and trust yourself over time.
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Mental health benefits of self-empowerment
Developing self-empowerment and self-determination skills has the potential to greatly improve your mental health. When you feel like you are more in control of your life and have more confidence in yourself and your abilities, you will likely feel more motivated to go after your goals and create a life of joy and fulfillment.
Self-empowerment can lead to many mental health benefits, including:
Higher self-confidence and self-esteem
Being able to establish and achieve your goals
Increased mental resilience and self-awareness
Improved decision-making and goal-setting skills
Ability to verbalize your feelings and needs better with others
The care you need, when you need it
Learn how Rula can support your mental health journey
From my experience, a simple place to start is making one small decision for yourself each day and following through. It could be setting a boundary or choosing how you spend your time. These small actions build trust in yourself. Over time, that trust is what self-empowerment is built on.
Brandy Chalmers, LPC
Clinical reviewer
Find care with Rula
Developing self-empowerment techniques requires intentionality and hard work. But you don’t have to go on your self-empowerment journey alone. If you’re struggling with low self-esteem and self-empowerment, consider seeking help from a mental health professional.
At Rula, we’re here to help you feel better. Rula makes it easy to find a licensed therapist or psychiatric provider who takes your insurance. That way, you don’t have to choose between great care and a price you can afford.
Rula patients pay about $15 per session with insurance, and 93% say they feel better after getting care through Rula. We have 21,000+ providers, and appointments are available as soon as tomorrow. We’re here to help you take the next step — wherever you are in your mental health journey.
Oludara Adeeyo, LCSW
Oludara Adeeyo, LCSW is a therapist and author who is passionate about helping others improve their overall well-being. She has extensive experience treating mood disorders, personality disorders, and thought disorders for diverse populations.
Oludara is the bestselling author of "Self-Care for Black Women" which shares advice and activities designed to help Black women outwardly express their inner joy. Oludara’s writing has also appeared in Women’s Health and Wondermind.
Ashley Ayala, LMFT
Ashley is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in generational healing and family dynamics. Ashley has worked in schools, clinics, and in private practice. She believes that people’s relationships, including our relationship with ourselves, greatly shape our experiences in life.
Ashley is committed to empowering others to show up authentically and deepen their self understanding. This passion stems from taking a critical lens on her own life story and doing inner healing. One of her favorite quotes is “Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.”
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Members of Rula’s clinical leadership team and other expert providers contribute to all published content, offering guidance on themes and insights based on their firsthand experience in the field. Every piece of content is thoroughly reviewed by a clinician before publishing.
