Autonomy is important to understand as a business owner. Especially if you’re a coach, healer, or consultant – you work with people directly.

Autonomy is a fundamental, foundational place to think from.

We cannot govern or control another, even though we may try! But, people get to decide what is best for them. Any marketing or influencing (if done with integrity) has to come with a decent amount of responsibility for our own ability/need/hidden agenda to manipulate another.

We all have ways we do this (if we tell the truth). What are yours and how do they show up in how you run your business? Can you take no for an answer? Can clients have their own opinion? Do you create conditions in your business that allow and encourage people to make their own choices?

A lot of trust gets created when we are working directly with other human beings. We can (and do) apply force and manipulation, without even being aware that we’re doing it. It can be subtle, or loud.

People will push back when we cross the line, But not always.

Attunement helps here – listening and paying attention to how we leave people, how we impact them. Are we honoring another’s sovereignty? Can we remember that someone else has their own point of view, their own needs and ultimately, they know what’s best for themself?

This is a practice, something that I think we can all get better at.

Please, invite people to work with you in all the ways – but do so in a way that gives people real freedom to choose.

We can share our ideas and promote the heck out of our work, but at the end of the day, people are going to do what they do and as soon as we start trying to influence (manipulate) their choices, we tend to stop listening to them, only paying attention to our own wants.

This applies to all situations in life that have to do with other people! (our kids, romantic encounters, the neighbors down the road)

 

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A post shared by Be Bright Studio – Runa Bird (@thebebrightstudio)