Rest assured, everyone has the ability to protect themselves—absolutely everyone.

Think of it like a muscle. It’s there, ready and available in our body, but it needs to be trained to gain strength. I need to practice standing up for myself, step by step. Just like building muscular mass at the gym, this ability will grow day by day until it feels strong and natural.

There’s no shortcut; the only way to develop this skill is through practice.
At first, it will feel intimidating because we’re so unused to acting this way. We might be convinced that others will react poorly or that some big drama will unfold as a result of our actions. Often, we begin with what feels like a bold and significant step... only to discover that it goes largely unnoticed. What felt monumental to us might seem minor to others.

One thing is guaranteed: the reaction we receive will rarely be what we anticipated. We are often surprised! Along with that comes an important realization: nothing terrible happened. The world kept turning, and so did I. And this is how I will start change and better protect myself: I will be able to experience it works, and nothing awful happens.

So, take it one small step at a time, but never doubt this truth: everyone has this dormant skill within them, waiting to be awakened. The more actions I take, the more I will reinforce my belief this is working and good for me.