American novelist Alice Walker, who wrote the book ‘The Colour Purple’, got it right for me when she said: “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” She hit the nail firmly on the head because individuals and communities do have power, they do have a say – and if they are determined enough – they can move mountains, particularly if they use positive thinking in the way it was intended.

Most people mistake positive thinking as simply a way of attracting material possessions, but it is at its most powerful when people as individuals, or as groups, decide they want things to change. When someone is determined enough and has a clear vision of what they want to achieve then everything is possible.

The trouble is that individuals and communities faced with what seems like insurmountable obstacles quickly believe that there is nothing they can do. Whether you are a lone woman under the boot of a bully partner or a whole community facing pressure from an oppressive government, or whether it’s any one of thousands of other different variables – you still have power.

But first you have to recognise the support you really have and work out what you can do with it. Let’s talk first about individuals who right now may be feeling that they have lost the power to influence their lives in any way.

Maybe someone has broken your spirit to the point where you feel so worn down that you have effectively given up. It is easy to give some glib solution or statement about such situations – the only way is up, right. No wrong, because you need to decide where you go from here or even if you want to go anywhere – but regardless of how you are feeling – you still have the power to make some kind of decision.

Even at the darkest moment the human spirit has proved it can conquer every kind of adversity. It just needs one decision by you to put together a positive solution to anything that you are currently facing. You need to think positively, summon up your courage and take that first step towards taking back your power. If you have a vision of what you want to achieve, supported by a strategy that will take you forward, then everything really is possible.

Embrace positive thinking and combine it with action by looking for what support is out there. It exists and when you start looking with intent, then it will find you – and you will not be alone because you have decided to take back power.

It’s a little easier of course for communities or groups because you are surrounded by like-minded people all with the same problems, but even these are prone to collective perceptions believing they have lost the power to make change.

Wrong, wrong, wrong - collective positive thinking can make a huge difference even when you have been told that change is a hopeless cause. There is always a solution but if you decide there is nothing more you can do, then you have effectively given away any power you might had.

Have you waived a white flag without considering other options? Things have a habit of changing. What was once written in tablets of stone no longer applies. Are there any compromises to be had or have you all simply rolled over to have your tummies tickled?

Most communities and groups feel powerless when authority tells them they have to take or leave certain issues, but with good leadership, a positive strategy, a vision of possible outcomes – then change can be made.

As I said earlier – positive thinking is not all about attracting material possessions – it has more to do with making real change in the lives of individuals, groups and communities. It is about taking back power when all seems lost.

So what are you going to do about it?