The Beauty of an Empowerment List

It's time you created an Empowerment List for yourself. It is my favorite tool for building myself up and making me feel confident about the woman I am becoming. I look forward to sharing just how easy the process it is for you guys to make your own lists (because your list is uniquely yours) and for inspiring you all to start living your life feeling confident, happy, and empowered.

It’s impossible to feel amazing about yourself and the life you live all the time. Maybe you were out too late the night before and woke up feeling exhausted and sweaty. Maybe your morning started out stressful and frustrating and now you’re in a bad mood. Maybe you ate something that hurt your stomach. Maybe you looked in the mirror and picked yourself apart instead of speaking to yourself kindly. And maybe you can’t put your finger on the reason, but you just feel icky.

We all go through moments like this. It doesn’t matter how successful you are, what you look like, how awesome your job/relationship/life is like. That’s the truth of it-that’s life. But what is important to understand is that these negative feelings will pass- they are only temporary. And there is a quick and easy way to get you feeling good about everything again. I am excited to share with you my favorite confidence-booster… The Empowerment List.

The Empowerment List is a list of actions you can take to make you feel confident and

empowered for whenever you are feeling down. It’s such an awesome tool to have for when the icky feeling starts to set in. You can easily pause, recognize that whatever negativity you are feeling/ telling yourself is not reality, and combat it by picking an action from your Empowerment List and doing it!

Now let’s go through the process of creating our lists!

Creating an Empowerment List

1. I recommend that you create this list when you are in an empowered state. I feel like this is when we are best able to think highly of ourselves and know what we need to feel our best.

2. Brainstorm what actions to add to the list. Here are some prompts for you to use:

“I feel confident when I…”

“I am proud of myself when I…”

“I feel really happy when I…”

“I love to do…”

“When I do …. , I feel the most like myself”

3. Constantly update this list as you grow, learn more about yourself, and your preferences change. Some activities that make you happy in 2023 might become old by 2024. You might pick up a new hobby ten months down the road that could easily be incorporated into your routine. This list is all about you making you feel like your best self, so as you evolve and flourish and thrive, make sure the list also changes to reflect that.

4. Put this list somewhere easily accessible. Remember that when you go to look for it you’re already probably feeling down on yourself. Do your future self a favor by not making them stress about searching for it!

Here are some things that I have on my empowerment list:

1. Drinking Coffee

I feel happy when I’m drinking coffee. I feel empowered when I’m drinking coffee. I am productive when I’m drinking coffee. I love going on coffee dates with friends. I love the taste of coffee. I could go on and on, but I will never feel bad about spending money on an (overpriced) coffee because I know how much joy and confidence it brings to my day!

2. Putting on Makeup and an Outfit that makes me Feel Good!

Picking out an outfit that I like and applying makeup is a fun activity for me. I am not a very artistic person but I swear this whole getting ready routine is an art for me. I dress myself and put on makeup for myself, not for the attention of others. I do not need clothing or lipstick to make me feel good about myself because I know that confidence comes from within. But I do feel very empowered when I am wearing an outfit that I feel confident in. In choosing the outfit, I am also manifesting my vibe. For example, when I want to look older and professional for my internship, I plan my look accordingly. When I want to look like a confident and strong woman in a male-dominated gym, I wear bright colors to exude this mentality. Taking the time to dress in the way I want to present myself brings me joy, helps me to feel empowered, and actually helps me to feel the way I want to feel!

3. Organizing My Mind and Space

There is something so powerful about cleaning and organizing the space you live in. I know myself well, and I know that one of the main reasons I may be feeling down is because I am stressed or overwhelmed. Therefore, taking the time to clean my room or write down to-do lists in my planners helps me to feel empowered because I am doing the things I need to do to feel calm and organized again. There is also no better feeling than coming back to your nice, safe, clean room after a long and stressful day, so therefore you are also manifesting an empowered vibe for yourself every single day.

You see what I’m talking about? These are three examples of small actions I know that will help me to feel like my best self. I know that when I wake up feeling gross after a night out I must pick out a cute outfit and put on makeup. I know that when I am injured and have an upsetting doctor’s appointment I should get coffee to make me feel happy again. I know that when I am overwhelmed academically I should take the time to clean my desk and room so that my environment breathes productivity into me.

What works for me may not work for you, and that’s the beauty of making a list for yourself. We are all different people with different likes, wants, and needs, so therefore make that empowerment list for you and your future self!

Cheers to making 2023 our most empowered year yet!