The Measure of Power - What if power isn't measured by how much control we have over others, but by what we inspire within them?

I was having a conversation recently, and someone said something that has stayed with me.

"Everyone wants power."

I've thought about that ever since.

Because I don't think the answer is simply yes or no.

I think it depends on what we mean by power.

For some people, power means having authority over others. It means controlling outcomes, directing people's actions, and making sure things happen the way they want them to happen. Sometimes that power is exercised through fear, intimidation, pressure, or control.

That is one definition of power.

But it isn't mine.

To me, true power has never been about controlling another human being.

It's about creating an environment where people are free to become the best version of themselves because they've been given trust, space, encouragement, and the opportunity to rise on their own.

I believe we are all born with an innate capacity to choose.

Our lives are shaped by our choices.

Through our choices, we grow.

Through our choices, we evolve.

Through our choices, we discover who we really are.

Choice is one of the most fundamental parts of being human. It is through our ability to choose that we experience freedom, take responsibility, and create a life that is truly our own.

When power is exercised through force, intimidation, or fear, I think something essential is lost.

It doesn't simply influence behaviour.

It begins to diminish one of the most fundamental aspects of our humanity: our ability to choose freely, to think for ourselves, to take responsibility, and to become who we are capable of becoming.

People may comply.

But compliance is not the same as growth.

The more I've reflected on it, the more I've realised that our definition of power says just as much about the person exercising it as it does about the people they're leading.

If someone believes they must rely on fear, intimidation, or constant control, perhaps that reflects something about their own inner world. Perhaps it reveals a lack of trust—not only in others, but in the possibility that people are capable of choosing well when they are given responsibility, respect, and the freedom to do so.

On the other hand, someone who is able to extend trust, who believes people are capable of making good choices, learning from their mistakes, and becoming leaders in their own right, is operating from a very different place.

A place of trust.

A place of faith.

A place of compassion.

A place of integrity.

They understand that leadership isn't about creating dependence.

It's about creating the conditions in which people discover their own strength.

Perhaps that is the true measure of power.

Not how much control we have over another human being.

But how much trust we're willing to place in them.

Whether our leadership creates dependence...

Or whether it creates freedom.

Whether people obey because they are afraid...

Or whether they rise because they are inspired.

To me, the greatest form of power isn't having influence over another person's life.

It's creating the conditions in which they discover the power that has always existed within themselves.

That, to me, is the measure of power.

Written by Ashleigh Stewart

I write about the art of living, personal inquiry, and growth through yoga, meditation, faith, and philosophy. If these reflections resonate with you, you're warmly invited to subscribe and continue the journey with me.