Empowered: If You've Got the Legs, Go Ahead

In the early days of cycling, I spent a lot of time on Jim's wheel. He was the experienced cyclist. I was the newbie. I followed his pace, watched his lines, and learned.

And then that simply became where I rode. Behind him.

One day, on a long, steady incline, Jim said, "If you've got the legs, go ahead."

So I did. And I kept going.

I wasn't deliberately holding myself back. Jim certainly wasn't holding me back. I'd simply gotten accustomed to following his wheel.

Jim didn't give me stronger legs that day. He gave me the nudge to find out what my own legs could do.

I've had people do that for me in other parts of my life. People who believed in me before I completely believed in myself. I've borrowed their belief long enough to try the thing, walk into the room, or take on something I wasn't entirely sure I was ready for. Then I gathered my own evidence.

Maybe I can do this.

I've had leaders who invited me into rooms, asked what I thought, trusted me with something bigger, and gave me room to figure it out. Their belief helped me find my own.

Sometimes that's how empowerment begins. But at some point, we have to stop waiting for someone else to say, Go ahead.

When I had my hysterectomy, I became much more intentional about being a partner in my own care. I wanted and needed my doctors' expertise. But I also wanted to understand my body, ask questions, and know what I could do through movement, nutrition, self-care, and lifestyle to support my healing and my life. I've sought second opinions, changed providers, and even fired a couple of doctors. Not because I don't respect their expertise, but because I've learned:

I can respect expertise without surrendering authority over my own life.

Years ago, I had chronic hives for six years. I saw allergists, dermatologists, and specialists. Nobody could tell me why they kept happening. Benadryl helped, but then I'd lose days to the fog. 

So I got curious. I started paying attention, playing detective, looking for patterns. That curiosity led me to coconut and, especially, heated MCT oil.

I wasn't trying to prove anyone wrong. I just kept asking questions and participating in my own care. There was power in realizing I had a role, too.

Maybe that's agency. Not control. Not believing we can dictate every outcome. Just knowing we're not powerless. We can ask another question. Say no. Change our minds. Get curious. Try something.

I can do something about what happens next.

At work, I had an idea for a series of conversations around coffee, culture, and connection. Nobody asked me to create it. I didn't have a blueprint. I just thought, This could be something.

So I started.

There was probably a time when I would have waited for someone to tell me it was okay. I'm getting better at giving myself permission.

We use the word empowerment a lot in workplaces. Empower your employees. But I'm not sure we give people empowerment.

Maybe we help them discover it.

We create safety. We listen. We notice strengths. We trust people with meaningful work and give them room. Sometimes we see something in them they haven't discovered for themselves yet.

If you've got the legs, go ahead.

Then we get out of the way and let them find out.

This is the fourth piece in my exploration of what helps people thrive: Safe. Seen. Fulfilled. Empowered. Maybe they were never four separate things.

When people feel safe, seen, and fulfilled, they're more likely to use their voice, trust what they bring to the table, and recognize their own agency. Sometimes we get there because someone believed in us first. We borrow their belief for a while, until it becomes ours.

So I'll leave you with two questions: Where might you still be waiting for someone else to tell you to go ahead? And who might need to borrow your belief in them for a little while?

Someone believed in us. We began believing in ourselves. And now we get to create that ripple for someone else.

If you've got the legs, go ahead.