In my work as a crisis volunteer and life coach, as a student of psychology, and through my own personal experience, it’s clear that many of us go through times when we feel powerless and doomed to forever remain in negative, harmful environments. When dealing with toxic people, knowing that we have inner strength to draw on is very advantageous. It allows us to create or uphold boundaries and protect ourselves. Let’s take the example of an adult child of a narcissist deciding to take a stand with a narcissistic parent and their other enabling parent.

Standing up to a narcissist is rarely without its consequences. And that’s where inner strength is beneficial. Going against the status quo tends to threaten, irritate, and annoy narcissistic parents and their enablers. When this happens, there can be any number of consequences, but there will almost always be consequences. That’s something to be aware of and expected.

It may be the silent treatment, a smear campaign, yelling and belittling, or any number of other tactics. Narcissists are all about maintaining their power and ensuring that no one escapes it. It makes them unhappy when anyone takes a stand against them. With that said, knowing our adversary is most of the battle. Narcissists are predictable. Some of our inner strength and power lies in that knowledge because it gives us an edge.

So if we know to expect consequences of some kind or another, then our inner strength will carry us through whatever they may be. We have the right to be treated with respect and to have peace in our lives. That is an amazing motivator for summoning up our strength and journeying through whatever comes our way. Even when we feel weak and helpless, there is always strength to draw on. Remembering our power and summoning it when needed is what can help to create or maintain boundaries as well as protect ourselves from further harm.

We should go into taking a stand (or simply maintaining or protecting boundaries) with our eyes wide open, fully knowing the dynamics we’re dealing with. We should be prepared, resilient, aware of our inner strength, and acknowledging our never-ending power. We have the innate ability to grow through what we go through. We are stronger than any storm. And we need to know that it will get better. Hold onto hope.

Until next time,

Heather ~Natural Clarity Coaching~ naturalclaritycoaching.com na********************@***il.com Natural Clarity Coaching on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter