Discovering the path to my authentic Self took something. The pathway was strewn with boulders, potholes and debris, laid down over years of experience. Often the carnage from my life not only effected the present, it highjacked the future. There is a little snarky creature, waiting inside ready to happily take credit for keeping me and you trapped in a rut – The Gremlin.
The Gremlin is that small whisper whose single focus is to stop us from learning to love ourselves. It’s the fault finder. The gremlin likes status quo energy, dull. Everyone has gremlins and they are persistent and perpetual. Gremlins use language to trap us in self-defeating thoughts and beliefs.
The Gremlin’s partner is ego. Thomas Merton, an early mystic, said this, “From the moment we are born our ego defends its right to be right.” Being right and winning, even when you lose is better than practicing humility, empathy and being vulnerable. Our ego keeps us locked into making ourselves less, thereby reducing our ability to enroll people in our dreams and aspiration, (Dream – Level Two of The Three Levels of Reality.) Our Gremlins are with us every day in every way, big and small. The gremlin whispers “not enough” stories to us. The gremlin lies.
Here’s the thing. We will never erase the gremlin voice, we can manage our gremlin. It’s important for us to find the authentic Self. We are enough, we are up to the quest. Counter the gremlin voice with a different voice, your voice. Remember we waken the gremlin, simply by deciding to love ourselves and take back our life. So, you can see how difficult it is to hold big ideas and take risks with the gremlin shouting in your ear.
Start with small steps, First notice your gremlin voice, what does it tell you? When does it show up? Document the judgements or criticisms your hear. Then replace the gremlin voice with your voice, what do you say to yourself? What new voice shows up and what new stories will it tell you?
Have fun with this…More to come. Next Week choosing from our Values.