Ways You Give Away Your Power: Worship

Oh this is one I could go on and on and on about. My idol of choice is Men. Specifically a certain man that changes everything for me. Your idol? Is it your job? Your car? Your Favorite Athlete? Most of us have them.

Quoting from "Waking Up Groggy"


9. Worship

There is not a single person on this planet deserving of your worship. To worship someone is to believe they are better than you, they have something you don’t have, they have something you’re lacking…there is no guru, priest, rabbi, celebrity, motivational speaker, man woman or child you should ever bow down to or look up to. Nobody knows the secrets of the universe, nobody has all of the answers, nobody is better than you and to worship another is lowering yourself to a subordinate level.

There’s nothing wrong with loving someone’s work and being inspired by them…just know they aren’t greater than you. We each have our own unique gifts and each of us adds something special to this world.


This always reminds me of Chaz Palminteri in "Bronx Tale"

Young Calogero: "Bill Mazeroski, I hate him. He made Mickey Mantle cry. The papers said the Mick cried."

Sonny: "Mickey Mantle? That's what you're upset about? Mantle makes $100,000 a year. How much does your father make? If your dad ever can't pay the rent and needs money, go ask Mickey Mantle. See what happens. Mickey Mantle don't care about you. Why care about him?"

Calogero: [narrating] "After that, I never felt the same way about the Yankees."


So there you have it. Mickey Mantle don't care about you, why care about him? Don't give Mickey Mantle your power!!! :P



Tomorrow it all ends. Power Thief "Taking the Easy Way Out".

Ways You Give Your Power Away: Being a Doormat

Getting closer to the end. Copied from "Waking Up Groggy"


8. Being a doormat

It’s not selfish to say no, you have a right to live your own life and do your own thing. There is no good reason to constantly do what other people tell you to do without question. You’re not being cruel by refusing to put yourself out for someone else. Don’t allow others to walk all over you.

You know what a doormat is for? Cleaning the dirt off the bottom of shoes, don’t let other people wipe their shit on you.


Oh me oh my. I was a doormat. Just for a couple select people, but I was. I find that I tend to be a doormat for the men I care about. Hence my desire to be alone.


Tomorrow's Power Thief: Worship --- Yep, I do that too.

Ways You Give Your Power Away: Believing Everything Is Love & Light, Kittens, and Rainbows

Day 7 and Power Thief 7. Copying from "Waking Up Groggy"


Believing everything is love and light, kittens and rainbows

This is disempowering because denying an essential part of your being is to live in fear of your own nature…. we all have a dark side- we all get angry, we all can be pushed to violent reactions and we all have thoughts that we wouldn’t want anyone to know about…it’s called being human. Life is both dark and light, if you don’t embrace and accept your dark side and the dark side of life you become weak and a victim.


I. Fucking. Hate. This. Shit. Being into self-help the way I am, I get around waaaayyyyy too much of this. I find people who do this to either a) be in total denial b) be a RAGING PHONY c) a combo of both. Honestly, I really feel it's more B for Total B.S.

If you want to do this to yourself go for it, but don't do it around me. You won't know me for long.


Tomorrow's Power Thief "Being a Doormat"

Ways You Give Your Power Away: Allowing Others to Make Decisions and/or Speak for You

Copying again from "Waking Up Groggy"'s blog


6. Allowing others to make decisions and/or speak for you

Whether it’s low self-esteem, laziness, not enough time or energy it’s not an excuse for allowing others to run your life. You have it within you to make a good decision, you can do the research, you can use your own intuition, you don’t need someone else to make all of your decisions….stand up for yourself, speak up, don’t let others dominate you.

If you continue to allow others to run your life, ask yourself; do you enjoy living as a slave?



I don't do this one too much anymore, but I certainly used to. I think for me it was more fear of making the wrong decision or my serial People-Pleasing that drove it.


Tomorrow's Power Thief 7. Believing everything is love and light, kittens, and rainbows.

Ways You Give Your Power Away: Feeling Sorry for Yourself or Someone Else

Super-duper guilty of this one. More on the pity party kick lately and I dislike that tremendously. Here is what "Waking Up Groggy" wrote.


5. Feeling sorry for yourself or someone else

Pity is disempowering; you don’t help anyone by giving them your pity. Give love, give encouragement, give support and compassion but not pity. To pity someone is like taking a vacuum hose and sucking the life right out of them. The same goes for yourself, feeling sorry for yourself does nothing other than keep you stuck, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t grieve or feel hurt it means stop feeling like a victim and get proactive.


I feel she really summed it up. You don't need me to pontificate on this.


Tomorrow's Time Thief "#6 Allowing Other to Make Decisions and/or Speak for You"

Ways You Give Away Your Power: NOBODY Completes You!!!

Fuck You, Jerry McGuire!!!! One line from a so-so 90's movie ruined me and no doubt countless others for years. Today's Power Thief per "Waking Up Groggy" is

4. Believing someone else has the power to make you feel whole/sane/worthy/happy/alive
There is no man or woman who can save you from yourself.

There isn’t anyone you can’t live without.

There isn’t anyone who completes you.

You don’t need anyone to stand on your own two feet and feel strong.

Sometimes someone comes along who sweeps us off our feet, we feel energized and like the sun rises and sets just for the two of us. There’s nothing wrong with passion as long as it’s kept in check. Don’t let someone else take over your heart and mind no matter how intoxicating….you can enjoy your own company; you don’t need someone else to feel alive.

The other way we give our power away is by giving someone else all of the credit for our own personal achievements. Catch yourself when you say things like “I couldn’t have done it without them”… yes you could have. Be grateful for the support however take credit for your own accomplishments!

I need to write this entire thing on my bathroom mirror as it is probably my biggest stumbling block of the 10. I love a hero, god, idol to worship and revere. It's almost like I can't help myself. I pick one every few years and can name them off to you. There haven't been many, but they completely alter the orbit of my world. I also inevitably fall in love with these men (it's always been men up to this point), and I usually can't have them because they are attached to others or completely mental or both. This one is so hard for me that I feel I am relegated to a life of solitude because no other men will do it for me and it's unhealthy for me to be with them. I usually end up cutting myself off from them completely. Physically run away or just stay away.

I clearly have a lot of work to do on this one.



Tomorrow's Power Thief "Feeling sorry for yourself or someone else" (that's another one of mine.)

Ways You Give Your Power Away: Obsessing Over Someone's Bad Behavior

Item 3 on "Waking Up Groggy"'s list of the 10 ways we give away our power is to fixate on someone else's bad behavior.

Quoting directly

Some people are assholes…period. In fact, some people get off on making other people miserable, and they aren’t going to change. Constantly complaining about their bad behavior, talking about it with anyone who will listen and feeling victimized by them is like bowing down at their feet and calling them master.

Ignore them, don’t engage…no matter how tempting it is, don’t engage! Ignore them completely and they’ll move on.

This is a no brainer yet one I certainly fell into myself. My identity got wrapped up in someone's insanity. For years. I actually moved on my myself. Physically left. Now I have zero tolerance for anyone's bullshit and usually can see it from a mile away.

Tomorrow's Power Thief: 4. Believing Someone Else Has the Power to Make You Feel Whole/Sane/Worthy/Happy/Alive