Welcome to the Very Well Mind podcast. We've interviewed over 100 authors, experts, entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, and others to help you learn strategies to care for your mental health.

This episode is hosted by psychotherapist and bestselling author Amy Morin. Now let's get into the episode.

Okay. You're listening to the Friday fix. Every Friday, I share a quick mental strength exercise that will help fix the thoughts, emotions, and actions that drain you of the mental

strength you need to be your best.

Now, let's dive in today's episode. Today, I'm going to talk about how to stop giving away your power.

In my book, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do, there's a whole chapter on this subject.

It's the chapter that seems to resonate with readers the most. I've heard from so many of you over the years who said that taking back your power ultimately

changed the course of your life.

Owning your power is about recognizing that you're responsible for how you think, feel, and

behave.

You give away your power when you blame other people for those things.

The best way to start taking back your power is to change your language.

The words you use make a big difference between seeing yourself as an empowered person or seeing yourself as a helpless victim.

Here are a couple of examples.

If you say something like, my boss makes me work all the time,

you're giving your boss power over your time. It's up to you to decide how many hours you work.

Your boss doesn't force you to work over time. Of course, there might be consequences if you

don't work a lot of hours, but that's up to you. Remind yourself, I choose to work a lot of hours. Maybe you choose to

work a lot because you like your job or you want the money. Or maybe it's more because you're

afraid of getting fired. Whatever the reason, though, it's your choice. Here's another one. When you say,

my mother makes me feel bad about myself, you imply that your mom's in charge of your

self-esteem. The truth is, it's up to you to decide how you feel about yourself. If your mom says mean

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