On the heels of Black History Month, I began looking more deeply at world leaders who have had a great impact on the black culture in America. I wanted to find a quote by one of these historical figures who has made an impact not only during their lifetime, but after as well – a quote I could hold onto for inspiration.
Of the many I found, one stood out and resonated with me. The quote is from the late Audre Lorde (1934–1992) who was a poet, essayist, librarian, feminist, and equal rights activist:
“When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”
To me, this means that the more that you use the power that you know that you have, the more you start to become fearless. You aren’t afraid to be afraid. This is not only important to me, but it should also be important to anyone else.
Often I find myself being afraid to stand up for myself or to take a stance on something that I believe in, but I know that if I actually did those things, I’d be a more powerful version of myself. However, I become afraid of the reaction that I may get or not being heard. If I want to be heard, I have to put those fears aside and speak up for myself, and for others. Millions of successful people have been a product of taking that risk and standing up for themselves to become successful and respected. In a way, they became more powerful.
I believe that power comes from taking those steps. Yes, sometimes you’ll be afraid, but you’ll learn that the more you take on that fear head on, you become one step closer to conquering it.
Audre Lorde (1934-1992). K. Kendall, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
