Did you ever have a little voice inside your head telling you that you’re not good enough? Most of us have these little voices, they say different things, but what they have in common is that they thwart our efforts in the pursuit of happiness. Some people call them gremlins, dragons, demon, saboteurs, whatever you call them, understanding them can open up new doors for you.
Where do we start?
Find your Gremlins. When I first heard about this concept of gremlins I was so elated to find out that all I had to do was face a few gremlins and then I would be super-human! Well, my gremlins were pretty well hidden and took at least a year for the first one to rear its head. I’m still unearthing these creatures that are so woven into my being that I can hardly see them.
Here are a few ideas to coax your gremlins out of hiding.
Scare em out. Scaring them means that you actually try to follow your bliss and then sit back and see who shows up. Oh, you want to go be an Alpaca farmer? Start looking online for Alpacas and listen for a voice in your head that says “You can’t make any money doing that. You’d be stupid to leave your job. The Alpaca’s would hate you and stage a mutiny!”
Get a coach. Coaches are great resources to help you recognize when a gremlin is popping up.
Wait and see. Just being attuned to the fact that you might have some lurking gremlins could help you. This is the path I took, and then one day BAM! A gremlin appeared.
Love your Gremlins. In the awesome 'Ignite her Fire' podcast, Gage Bock talks about Gremlins and how they don’t go away, you just learn to live with them. She notes that your gremlin is there to protect you, but perhaps you don’t need that protection anymore.
Notice other people’s Gremlins. I want you to start to notice other people’s gremlins. However, DO NOT call them out! Life won’t be good for you if you start telling your coworkers “Hey I can see you have a gremlin!” Just notice that they have a gremlin, and let that help you love them anyway. Remember, their gremlin is trying to protect them. The more you can make it safe for them, the less work their Gremlin needs to do.
How have your Gremlins showed up? Let us know!
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