In psychology, learned helplessness is a state that occurs after a person has experienced a stressful situation repeatedly, which conditions them into believing that they are unable to control or change the case even when opportunities to exit are available. In a sense, learned helplessness leads to self-victimization, feelings of being “stuck” and blaming others instead of taking responsibility when necessary. Self-leadership helps you reframe thinking associated with learned helplessness, to more productive, positive thought processes focusing on what is within your control.

Self-leadership is built on the idea that before you can successfully lead others, you must first be able to lead yourself.  Leaders are everywhere-- on the job, in communities, in classrooms, in homes. Everyone can develop a practical personal leadership philosophy by applying self-leadership concepts which can translate to all areas of life. For current leaders, it can develop weaknesses into strengths.

How often are things going wrong or worsening because you're trying to get the other person to change? Self-leadership redirects one’s energy and focus on their behavior because one can only influence or change oneself. One of the critical principles of assertiveness is first recognizing you can only control yourself. Too often, leaders fail to realize they are not getting the desired results because they are too focused on changing others, overlooking the changes that need to be made in self-discipline, and self-goal setting.

The fundamental idea behind self-leadership is influence and goal-directedness, which makes one more mindful of word choices. Self-expression or simply expressing feelings, although a very necessary part of communication, may derail us and others from the goal. Self-leadership prompts one to ask themselves, is this about expressing myself, or do I have a goal in mind?