THIS ISSUE'S SUCCESS LINKS Request your free audio CD On the Elements of Power website, you can ask to receive the 45-minute CD “Is Success Running You Ragged? An Introduction to the Elements of Power” absolutely free. Sara Harvey Yao and I explain why so many of us are so depleted by our work and our lives and what to do about it. Check it out! FlyLady.com As I attempt to create order amid the chaos of an enormous remodel (click here to see photos), Flylady.com is such an inspiration. A wonderful client introduced me to FlyLady and everyone with whom I’ve shared her organizing and cleaning brilliance has been wowed. Enjoy! Success with Ease Training for Women in the Seattle Area Visit women succeed with ease to learn about these monthly breakfast-time trainings for strong women who are ready to do it easier, and hungry for connection with peers as smart and vibrant as they are.

THE BALANCE OF POWER
by Michele Lisenbury Christensen

Are you a go-getter? Would others describe you as driven? Or are you someone who’s more intuitive, reflective, and sometimes has a hard time getting into gear to accomplish your goals? Both styles are useful, and both have their drawbacks when you use them all the time.

On my audio CD “Your Business Can Be a Spiritual Path” one of the five practices is “Balance Making It Happen and Letting it Unfold.” This practice allows us to find a blend of our assertive and receptive energies, both of which are important if we’re to run a spiritually satisfying, financially sustainable business.

But little did I know when I created the CD: that one practice has ballooned in my own life and in my work with clients. In collaboration with Sara Harvey Yao, I’ve articulated twelve specific elements of power or energy. I’ve been using these elements of feminine and masculine power to teach clients to activate both their masculine power and their feminine power so that they can use the right “tool” for the job in every moment.

In this article, I will introduce the twelve elements, and as you read, I encourage you to assess where your “balance of power” is right now: which elements of power are active, which are over-used, and which are under-active, given your desires for your business and your life? The tips at the end will help you integrate both the masculine and feminine elements in all you do.

A quick caveat: these elements of power are present in all of us and omnipresent in the world – like the Chinese qualities of yin and yang. I’m not saying “men are this way and women are that way.” We ALL need to balance and activate ALL these elements of power to create success and especially to have our success be sustainable. We burn ourselves out when we use half our power 100% of the time.

The first pair of elements relate to HOW WE GET WHAT WE WANT.
The feminine element is Receptivity. It allows us to receive information and to intuit, and Receptivity allows others to give to us.

The masculine element is Driving. When we’re driving, we’re acquisitive, directive, and penetrating. We see what we want and take assertive action to get it.

When we’re too receptive, we wait for life to come to us, and we’re often disappointed or we waste part of our talent. When we’re too driven, we push ourselves and others too hard, leading to overwork and burnout. When we balance the two, we get what we want with a combination of moving toward our desires, and allowing them to move toward us.

The second pair of elements relate to HOW WE ESTABLISH OUR IDENTITY
The feminine element is Connection. Connection allows us to cultivate relationships, be connected to our bodies, the earth, our emotions, and the Divine (whatever that means for us).

The masculine element is Self-Reliance. Self-reliance allows us to be independent, to focus on tasks, to take risks, and to make things happen.

With too much self-reliance, we’re fiercely independent and we miss out on both the talents of others and their companionship. When we’re too connected, we can become co-dependent with others, over-concerned about what others think, and indecisive. A good balance of connection and self-reliance allows us to have rich relationships and a strong sense of divine guidance and emotional flow, along with a sense of self-determination and forward movement.

The third pair of elements relate to HOW WE RELATE TO OURSELVES AND OTHERS
The feminine element is Nurturing. This allows us to care for, tend to, heal, relate, and to empathize with our own and others’ pain.

The masculine element is Providing. Providing means that we protect, rescue, fix, pay for, and/or take action on others’ behalf.

When we’re over-nurturing, we feel too much of others’ pain or we indulge in our own challenges and neglect to take action to make situations better. Whe our providing power is over-active, we do TOO much for others, attempt to earn love with our actions or our spending, and deplete ourselves. A balance of nurturing and providing allows us to take good care of ourselves without being self-indulgent and to give to others just what they need, when they need it, in ways that work for us.

The fourth pair of elements relate to HOW WE SET PRIORITIES
The feminine element is Sensuality. Sensuality refers to our capacity for pleasure, to creating beautiful environments, and to activating all our senses.

The masculine element is Pragmatic. Pragmatism focuses on what’s functional, practical, level-headed, and straightforward.

Out of balance sensuality keeps us distracted, over-focused on aesthetics, and… well, impractical! Too much pragmatism, however, and we skip our feeling, sensual nature and lose a sense of wonder and pleasure. When we balance the two, our actions are effective and our creations are successful because form and function come together in a powerful way.

The fifth pair of elements relate to HOW WE HANDLE CHALLENGES
The feminine element is Resilience. Resilience gives us the capacity to allow energies or experiences to pass through us. We bend with what’s happening, we feel our pain and others’ reactions, and we hold steady.

The masculine element is Fierceness. Fierceness allows us to speak up, defend, fight back, analyze, and plan an approach, then launch a campaign.

When we do too much “holding” with our resilience, we can become doormats. When we’re too quick with our fierceness, we fail to make room for others and their reactions, because we’re too busy with our argument or approach. Balancing fierceness and resilience allows us to create productive conversations, collaborations, and relationships. This balance also lets us see projects through with both effective action and effective inaction when that’s appropriate.

The sixth pair of elements relate to HOW WE THINK
The feminine element is Holism. Holism means we can multi-task, see connections, focus on possibilities, hold many details simultaneously, and think symbolically.

The masculine element is Focused. Focus allows us to think with laser sharpness, speak or write in an articulate way, see “holes”, analyze, be linear, and think literally.

When we think too holistically, we lose track of our ideas and others have a hard time following what we’re saying. If we’re too focused in our thinking, we become inappropriately critical and lose sight of the broader possibilities and deeper meaning of our work.

Until next time,
may the light within you illuminate the world around you.

          Blessings,

Michele Lisenbury Christensen
Success and Spirit Coach

© 2005 Michele Lisenbury Christensen. All rights reserved. Feel free to or re-publish, with the following copyright and contact information attached:
"By Michele Lisenbury Christensen, MA, PCC, Success and Spirit Coach. Please visit http://www.successandspirit.com for additional articles, interviews, and resources for creating sustainable success and spiritual connection." (Please make sure the link is live if placed in an e-mail or web page)

PRIVACY and Spam Policy: You'll never get an e-mail from a stranger as a result of this list, since I never sell, rent, or give away my subscription list. All privacy, no spam! I follow the CAN-SPAM Act of 2004. Want to see what that means? Check out a summary of the CAN-SPAM Act.