United Studios of Self Defense, Girls on the Run Marin, and 860 Fitness are organizations that make a difference. The reason is simple; each organization has a primary goal of teaching people self-empowerment. Self –empowerment is the belief that you have the power to control and direct your life. And to some extent affect the world around you in a way that keeps you safe and relatively healthy.
It is easy to forget how much personal power we possess when so many circumstances seem beyond our control. A great teacher once said, “Think globally and act locally.” One of my mentors taught me to act globally by acting locally. This way of thinking views the world from a Human Systems perspective and suggests that all individuals on the planet are connected. It also means that if a person wants to enact change in any part of his or her world-be it self, relationship, family, group, organization, community, or society, he or she must first act locally by empowering himself or herself to make changes at the individual level. A person may need to change unhealthy habits to healthy ones, or adopt a new way of thinking for example.
The lesson of self-empowerment is an essential one for people to learn if they want to have a healthy, happy, and successful life. In a world that constantly attempts to affect how we think, feel, and behave through media messages, the challenge of holding on to our power is daunting. Teaching these skills takes time, effort, and patience. United Studios of Self Defense, Girls on the Run Marin, and 860 Fitness exist to teach people to sift through the false to get to the true.
Communities need organizations like these.