Shortcut to Empowerment

It has a revised use in recent years . But are you actually practicing empowerment ? That is the real question here . My goal as a coach is not to tell you what to do . That would be giving advice . If you want to know what to do , you would be going to your best friend or your mother .

My job as a coach is to show you that you know what to do because you have a powerful mind . Today we talk about staying in the zone of empowerment . This is what I call an area where you actually take control of your life .

Optimally , we should stay in the zone of empowerment , although very frequently we leave that zone and it is a constant practice to come back to it . If you are blaming anything or anyone outside of you for your results , you are not in the zone of empowerment .

If you are blaming the social and political unrest for the result you are creating for yourself as a Muslim . You have left the zone of empowerment . Result you are creating for yourself as a Muslim . You have left the zone of empowerment . You say I cannot lose weight , blaming diet plans and failing exercise plans . You've left the zone of empowerment .

You say you're too busy blaming , you don't have enough time . Also , you have left the zone of empowerment . In each case , the power belongs to an outside force . I'm going to tell you my definition of empowerment and then I will give you shortcuts to it . Sounds simple enough , right ?

My definition is empowerment is exercising your agency to sharpen your area of intelligence . Let me break it down . What do I mean by that ? I'm going to describe two concepts here , that are intelligence and agency . Let's start with intelligence .

If you're in a position where you'd rather not be bothered with empowerment , it might be because you don't believe you have anything valuable to offer to the world , because you're not smart enough or because you're not as intelligent as the rest of the people . So why bother with empowerment if you don't have anything to work towards , right ?

Might as well stay a victim . Oh my god . No , your intelligence is yours , not anyone else's . It's like comparing apples to oranges . If your intelligence tells you to grow vegetables , do that . If your intelligence tells you to organize until your house looks like it belongs in a magazine , do that . If it tells you to program video games , do exactly that .

If your intelligence tells you to rear God-conscious children , please do it . If it tells you to land on Mars , please go ahead and please get in touch with NASA , because they're looking for you . Don't compare your intelligence with anyone else's . Focus on finding your empowerment and sharpening the area of your intelligence . Everyone has some version of intelligence .

Notice , here I didn't say anything about your IQ , which is a very specific measure of a type of intelligence , and it has come under scrutiny recently because of that limitation .

Howard Gardner came out with a theory of multiple intelligences in 1983 , where he described at least eight different types of intelligences Verbal , linguistic , logical , mathematical , visual , spatial , musical , naturalistic , bodily , kinesthetic , interpersonal and intrapersonal . But these days , even that is being questioned .

Because of the digital era , people are questioning if digital intelligence is its own entity . I totally believe it , because my son has a much higher digital intelligence than me . He self-taught Python at the age of 10 , when I didn't even know it was anything other than a type of a snake . It turns out it's a programming language as well .

So the point is that intelligence differs from person to person . If you do not meet today's society's most accepted criteria of intelligence does not mean that you're not intelligent . Why am I telling you about intelligence in a podcast about empowerment ?

And that is because through empowerment , you can practice your specific type of intelligence and with that you will create value that no one else can Practice . Your intelligence through empowerment and you get to create your own experience of life , which is true freedom . This is you exercising agency , which is your right as a free human being .

So that brings me to the second concept that I use to define empowerment , and that is the concept of agency . This is the right that Allah gave us . When someone limits our life , they are seemingly taking our agency away . This is why you feel trapped .

This is why , when you tell your growing children to do something with their lives that they don't want to do , they immediately object , especially if it's not in line with their lives that they don't want to do . They immediately object , especially if it's not in line with their intelligence , and , in worst case scenario , they rebel . So respect your agency .

Respect your children's agency from a place of love , not from a place of control . Even if someone seems like they're taking control of your agency , know that the power is always within you in the shape of your thoughts .

It seems very easy that people in position of power can take your agency away , and I don't mean in political power , people in your personal life , even like your parents , older siblings , boss , your teacher . That is why there's so much more accountability for all of us in positions of power .

So we have to keep in check if we are abusing our power over another human being . Ironically , most of us abusing our power in personal relationships do it unconsciously and out of ignorance , because we don't know that our position can have that effect on others . But in this case , ignorance is not bliss .

We will be held accountable , no matter if we are in a position of power subconsciously taking someone's agency away or if we are on the receiving end of that treatment that our agency is being taken away . We will be held accountable for what we did to help our situation . So awareness is the key .

Work on becoming aware of your thoughts through life coaching , because if you have the capacity to think , you will be held accountable . That brings me to the third and the final topic of accountability . So in some cases , people avoid empowerment because if they took on that responsibility , they would have to take accountability for their life's experience .

So , in other words , empowerment equals agency leading to accountability , avoiding empowerment and blaming circumstances , staying in victim mode , saying I would do more if I had this resource . I can't go to work because I don't have a car . You are avoiding accountability for your results .

You might be doing it subconsciously , but you're still doing it subconsciously , but you're still doing it this way . If you avoid accountability , you don't have any results to be held responsible for , or at least that's what the mind feeds us . The reality is that we are accountable for whatever we create in our lives , even if we create no result at all .

So gain empowerment , because accountability is coming . It looks like it might be far away in the shape of death or day of judgment , but it's still coming . Either way , allah SWT promises accountability for the smallest actions and inactions . One thing I want to clarify here is what is it that you actually have agency over and by agency I mean control .

What is it that you have control over ? This might sound strange . I mean control . What is it that you have control over ? This might sound strange , but I'm going to tell you that even your own body is not in your control , and I don't mean motor control .

You can pick up a glass of water and take a drink , but you can still get sick and the response to that illness is out of your control . Covid-19 is the prime example of that . People otherwise healthy have seen debilitating consequences from this disease that is not in your control . So let's talk about the extreme case scenario .

What if you have a special ability since birth , which some people also call a disability ? Or what if you became specially abled from an accident ? In these scenarios it is clear that you don't have control over your body . We can even lose bodily functions that we take granted for .

So by agency I mean to focus on only things that are under your control and nothing outside of that . In this case , that is only our mind . Seems like the body that houses the mind is something in our control , but that is also an illusion . Anyone with a special needs situation .

It is very easy for them to stay out of the zone of empowerment because the society agrees that a great injustice is happening . That will not serve you . Only your mind will serve you . So you don't have to agree with people feeling sorry for you . That's their way of showing empathy . You start working on your empowerment .

Don't have to agree with people feeling sorry for you . That's their way of showing empathy . You start working on your empowerment . If you're struggling to find your empowerment , you're finding it challenging to accept that your special needs child is not causing your result or your special needs is not causing your result in life .

Please get in touch with me at islamiclifecoachschoolcom or islamiclifecoachschool at gmailcom . Empowerment equals agency and since accountability for that agency is inevitable , you might as well become empowered . I mean , what's the confusion here ? Right ? Pay attention to what steps you're taking to gain awareness . So let's revisit the definition .

Empowerment is exercising your agency to sharpen your area of intelligence . The shortcut to this empowerment lies in the understanding that you have agency over your thoughts . You can choose between lower brain and higher brain thoughts at any given time . Any physical limitations , abusive situation , financial constraints do not control your thoughts . You control your thoughts .

Once you exercise that agency , you are empowered . That is the shortcut . Now use this empowerment to feed the area of intelligence and create the life of your dreams .

I feel like I keep giving out secrets to life on this podcast , but , inshallah , everyone listening will benefit . That is the goal here . Please keep me in your du'as and I also request if anything here has helped you , please write me a review on iTunes .

I want all of the Muslim women to discover these secrets and your reviews will help get this message to them . So please , if this podcast has made a difference in your life at any level , take a few minutes to write me a review and , inshallah , you will be rewarded for the intention to help the ummah and rewarded many fold .

I want to make a special prayer for everyone on this path of awareness . I ask that Allah put barakah in this path and that he provides us guides that take us closer to Him through this journey in life . I pray for all of Muslim ummah and the mankind at large to become aware of their own agency and to step out of trying to control others' agency .

May Allah SWT guide me , first of all , in the quest of recognizing that everyone has free will and God-given rights . I pray that I can show up for the people I'm responsible for , not from a place of control , but from a place of understanding and love . I pray for forgiveness for any mistakes I might have made in this path .

I pray for forgiveness for everyone listening and for everyone not listening that are on this path . I ask Allah Azza wa Jal for strength and insight into this journey and I ask that he keeps sending us tool and methods to discover His design . I will talk to you guys next time .