You know you’re in the throws of a gremlin attack when…
…you’re looking for a new job while awaiting to hear of a promotion or launching a huge project.
…you’re planning your funeral while you wait to see a doctor for a sore throat.
…your knee hurts right before a big run and you haven’t injured it.
…you think your boss is going to fire you because he wants to see you at the end of the day.
You know the voice- it’s the one inside your head telling you that you’re not good enough or smart enough to do something or that you’re too good or too smart to do something- either way, you don’t do it. It’s the inner critic who finds fault with everything you do. It’s the voice that keeps you from swinging out or trying something new. It is your own inner saboteur that wants you to be safe and so you stay inside your comfort zone where nothing bad can happen right?
That’s the problem. When you stay inside your comfort zone, you think you’re safe. It feels secure, or even if you’re comfort zone is a dysfunctional place, it still feels familiar: it’s a known danger so it’s not as scary. While that may not make sense, if you find yourself in such a place then you know what I mean.
The best way I have found to define this phenomenon is in the outcome. What was the outcome you wanted that had you try something new in the first place? What possibility did you see for yourself? Did you reach it or did you kill the idea before you even tried. Maybe you half tried- like buying into a diet program, but then not following it. That’s what I call half-trying. It’s the feeble attempt to do something positive, only to then not follow through- even if you had a really good reason- and then you get to be right when it didn’t work. Does that sound like a familiar pattern?
Here’s the trickiest part of all: most of the time it’s a subconscious act, you don’t even realize it’s happened until it’s over. That’s why it’s so effective. There’s a great quote by Eleanor Roosevelt and it goes like this. “Do one thing that scares you every day.” I don’t practice that, and I know that if I did practice it, I would see a change in my life. I also know that something scary can be very different depending on the person. For some it’s jumping out of an airplane and for others it may be walking to the end of their driveway to get the mail. It doesn’t matter what it is: it only matters how it makes you feel. So go on and try it- do something scary today- scary for you.
To learn more about Gremlins and how to work with them and get them out of your way, check out the book, Taming Your Gremlin, by Rick Carson.