Does love give (away) power?
A tough, deep question.
In a way, "being in love" empowers people, for sure.
Even outside of "happiness" or "life satisfaction", it can have direct affect on performance.
I remember as a kid watching motorbike races on TV and the commentator said that one possible reason for an unexpected bout of success from a rider was that "he was in love".
And he went to explain that the only time he -the commentator- came close to a title was when he was in love. Because, he said, being in love gives you wings.
On the other hand, you also tie a lot of your emotional well-being to someone else -and to a relationship-.
Being in love is an act of vulnerability.
And it's one of those cases where vulnerability does take some courage.
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Yeah, there's no definitive answer, in my opinion. It all depends on one's values.
If you were to tell someone to write down their top five life values in order and they wrote things like family and happiness at the top, love might actually give them power — contributing to their life by allowing them to live out their highest values to the fullest.
On the other hand, if they put things like money and "independence" at the top, they might see love as a hindrance, getting in the way of their goals and only serving as a distraction.
Personally, I love love. Power is great, but power isn't everything.
Whether love gives away power or not, I'm happy to experience it, embrace it to get the most out of life, and pick myself up and grow when things don't work out.
P.S.:
Of course, that last part is treating love and power as if they're mutually exclusive things, which we know here that they're not. Both influence and feed into one another. But, for the sake of explaining that love is a drug worth losing some power for sometimes, I made them out to be separate.
Great message, Ali, perfectly put.
It's a vulnerable risk you take, and to experience the upsides, you have to be willing and have to courage to run the risks.
Quote from Ali Scarlett on March 9, 2022, 9:35 pmPersonally, I love love. Power is great, but power isn't everything.
Whether love gives away power or not, I'm happy to experience it, embrace it to get the most out of life, and pick myself up and grow when things don't work out.
Nothing to add, just quote-worthy :).
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