Gremlins and other drugs…

Sometimes our fears are like drugs. We hold them close, usually secret, and need a daily dose to remind ourselves why we can’t do something. These fears that hold us back are like gremlins lurking in the corner, waiting to pounce the minute we get an idea, sometimes holding us back from allowing ideas to formulate at all.

Now, don’t get me wrong, some fears are logical, even life-saving. What I’m talking about are the fears – gremlins – that hold you back from moving toward a goal or dream. A gremlin that forces you to look at problems instead of solutions, to focus on the past instead of the present or future. Let’s explore the four gremlins that can paralyze you:

Inspiration: Sometimes fear manifests as an inability to create. There is a lack of inspiration, and you just don’t even know what is possible or what you want.

Implementation: Great, you got past your fear of dreaming, and now you are faced with implementing the vision. But you can’t do it, not you, you could never be successful. First of all you don’t have the time, space, or energy to move forward, second of all it’s just too damn hard.

Value: So you have the vision, you know the steps to take, but what if no one accepts what you are doing? What if you don’t fit in? Are you worth it? What if you upset people with your ideas?

Identity: Who am I really? What is my purpose? What is it all about?

It would be easy for me to say – get over it, you are worth it, what are you waiting for!? But here’s the thing, these same gremlins pop up for me all the time. So how do you deal with them? Let’s take a lesson from the movie Gremlins. In the movie there were three rules: Never expose the Gremlin to bright light, never let it touch water, and never feed it after midnight.

Let’s turn these upside down a bit:

1. Never feed your Gremlin period: In the movie if you feed the Gremlin after midnight it turns into a reptilian creature, terrorizing those closest, and causing havoc – sound familiar? The more you feed your fears the bigger they become, the more paralyzed you are.
2. Never let it touch like Gremlins: In the movie when a Gremlin touches water it multiplies. When you decide to talk to someone struggling with a like gremlin, it multiplies. Because here is what happens, you start going back and forth over the difficulty of your gremlins, making them bigger to stay in the conversation, and soon the gremlin has multiplied into six other gremlins and you have no way of getting them back in line. This isn’t to say don’t talk to people, but when dealing with a gremlin talk to someone who can help point you to the future not keep you focused on the past.
3. Always expose it to BRIGHT light: Shine some light in those dark places, who is in your life that can be your cheerleader, who is there to tell you that dammit you are worth it? Find those people. Journal in the mornings to get the ugly out so you can face the day bright and ready, gremlin free. When you shine bright light on a gremlin it dies – PERFECT!

Two questions to ask yourself when you are facing one of these gremlins:

1. Why is —– important to you? What is the value for you in going for your vision/dream/goal?
2. How does this belief (gremlin) serve you today? (Hint: it doesn’t, so what does serve you? Go for that.)

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