Ask the class to think of famous people who have overcome adversity and become powerful. Nelson Mandela is certainly one. Facing life in prison, Mandela still managed to fix his emotions to cope with it. Muhammed Ali lost his world title and could not fight for three years as he would not be drafted to Vietnam because of his religion (Islam). He could and would have gone to prison for his beliefs. Use these examples and add more of people who took responsibility for their actions and used that power to help other people. The students must take notes from this discussion and add their comments.
Get the class to describe people they consider who have misused the power they have been given. Robert Mugabe is a suggestion as he started off with good intentions but became corrupted by power. Richard Nixon is a possible name, was he weak? Adolf Hitler is clearly a main contender using his power and beliefs to persuade others to commit genocide. Ask the class to think of people in the current news who have misused their personal power and why. Discuss this and then get them to write up their contribution to the discussion.
Discuss with the students their own situations. Ask them if they have an anecdote that shows how they used or misused their personal power. They may be reluctant to do this, so an alternative is to ask them if they know of an occasion where it has happened without naming names. Discuss how negative and positive thought patterns may have affected the self esteem of one of the people involved. Consider any strengths that appear from their stories. Mention emotions and how they affected what went on and how the people concerned expressed their feelings. Is there a current situation that could be helped by changing their mindset?
List the important factors for personal power. Show the class a copy of a piece of today's news that is controversial and/or distressing. See their reaction. Ask them to write down their first thoughts on reading the article and what would they have done in the same situation. Can they see any strengths in the people involved and anyone whose personal power overcame their situation. Different people react differently to crises in their lives, some people are very emotional, some are not. Which is best? Does it matter?