Once Upon A Time...

Today, I want to talk to you about the stories we tell ourselves, because if we're not careful and aware, these stories will keep us stuck! 

I wonder, do you have a story for why you're not doing something? Why you're not achieving? Who or what do you blame? What do you tell yourself to get yourself off the hook?

And what about your metaphors? What ones do you use? Is life an uphill struggle? Are you trapped? Did someone kick you off your pedestal?

You see, what you may not realise is that the brain reacts most strongly to these pictures and symbols, and the pictures these metaphors and stories create in our minds can block us from moving through them to bigger and better things.

Changing one metaphor you use, can transform the way you look at your whole life. A previous client said she found herself stuck in a tough life. In her words, she had "so much baggage" and it was "weighing her down". Do you think that using that language with herself could affect the way she felt about her life? I said to her "how about you stop right there and put the baggage down…do it, take the baggage off your back and drop it down." I then went further and said "how about you tie the baggage to a rocket and fire it into outer space…bye bye baggage!"

Once she'd imagined doing this, I asked her to come back into her body to see how she now felt. What do you think she said? Yes! She said she felt 'light', 'free', she said she felt like she could 'move again'!

We live in a world of metaphors, the problem is that sometimes we create beliefs out of metaphors and their power keeps us stuck. Imagine if we convince ourselves that 'life is an uphill struggle', how would that make us feel? Would everything become hard work? A challenge?

How about 'I'm trapped'…would that cause anxiety? Or how about if you were always 'banging your head against a brick wall' - would that hurt? Or give you a headache?

If we adopt these metaphors as our own and apply them globally, it can affect our whole life and they make things seem far worse than they are! So become aware of the negative metaphors you use and drop them 'like a ton of hot bricks!'

However, because metaphors are so powerful, positive ones can be equally helpful. How would it feel if your life was 'full of hidden treasures' or 'like a bunch of flowers' or perhaps if to you, life was 'a rainbow of possibilities'? 

So, choose your metaphors carefully, so that they work for you, not against you!

And we'll all live happily ever after...

The views expressed in this article are those of the author. All articles published on Life Coach Directory are reviewed by our editorial team.

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