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Voice of the Gremlin
Voice of the Gremlin ©Written by Alana Tobin 2005, Life Coach
Live Your Heart Story www.heartstory.co.nz
'Gremlin' is a well known term in coaching circles representing
the 'inner critic,' a personification of the negative inner
voice. Gremlins are conceived through the passing along of
negative or self defeating messages which have been internalized
throughout life. Well meaning parents, teachers, siblings and
associates who like our selves are challenged intermittently
with the voices of the gremlin have (unconsciously) past these
along. When the voice of the gremlin overpowers our authentic
voice, it can feel difficult to go after what we most desire, as
we are plagued by self doubt, fear or feelings of low esteem.
The negative thoughts of the gremlin discourage us and can have
us believing we are not capable or worthy of being, having or
doing what we desire to experience in life. At times, it may
appear and feel as though there are insurmountable obstacles
blocking us from realizing our goals; such as: writing that
book, starting a new business, losing weight, healing a
relationship, or.... Gremlins may discourage you from speaking
up for yourself, or might have you denying your own needs in
order to make it easier for everyone else. Through minimizing
risk you may pass up important opportunities to excel in life by
nursing feelings of low self esteem. Familiar messages such as
the "I'm not good enough" or "I can't, shouldn't or won't
succeed," are expressions of the gremlin and at times they may
even go so far as to sabotage your progress by evoking negative
fantasies where you envision a 'worse case' scenario until you
catch yourself and snap out of it.
My role as a coach involves co-creating a space for an
individual so they can remember their innate magnificence
especially at times of transition when they may forget or lose
touch with their authentic nature and the truth and power that
is within. When moving into new territory, as in committing to a
new life venture, these gremlins emerge because they are
invested in keeping you safe and protected from imagined threats
and failures. If we resist the voices of our gremlins we may
'white knuckle' it through life's challenges, however I have
found their influence grows when we choose to deny or ignore
them. A gremlin's influence can be so compellingly powerful that
it becomes difficult to distinguish between the gremlin's voice
and what our own heart is communicating. Without a supportive
structure, it can be impossible to keep your vision for your
life in clear sight. As a life coach I ask powerful questions in
addition to utilizing a variety of empowering tools to assist
individuals in remembering and accessing more of their own inner
wisdom, creativity and power. Have you ever had the experience
of being chased in a dream and it seemed the harder you ran from
a shadowy pursuer, the harder it was to shake them off?
Dream interpreters suggest that if you have such a nightmare, if
you make a conscious intention before going to sleep, to turn
around and face your opponent head on, rather than running away,
that the frightening dream figure will often appear in another
form; more allowing for you to connect in a new way. Often in
dreams, parts of ourselves that we may not easily accept do
their best to get our attention; even scaring us into submission
so we will listen more closely to our deeper pain and the needs
that lie beneath it. Through acknowledging rather than ignoring
the gremlins, we allow ourselves to gain important insights and
opportunities to gain significant breakthroughs facilitative of
us reclaiming buried treasures once left behind.
In a coaching session, I asked a woman if she would be willing
to meet her gremlins through a creative process. She agreed and
a powerful healing experience ensued. This woman decided to meet
her gremlins head on, and even though at first it felt difficult
for her, she committed herself to draw pictures of her gremlins
on a few sheets of paper. After each drawing was complete her
intuition gave her little messages which she wrote at the bottom
of each page. Each message conveyed a feeling and once she set
about connecting the dots to these emotive messages...memory was
triggered allowing her to remember a time as a child where a
teacher had told her she couldn't draw. Over time her gremlins
had limited her in sharing her art with the world, yet once she
decided to meet them and her hurt feelings, emotional release
provided her with rich insights and genuine healing. Through
allowing her gremlins to emerge in a space of compassion, she
opened to a process of reclaiming and reintegrating her creative
gifts and was able then to move her art to a new level.
Deep down you may find that these gremlins with their negative
messages are really giving you an opportunity to become aware of
something important in order that you can retrieve a part of
yourself or reclaim a gift that you previously set aside. It is
through nurturing authenticity and exploring more of your
creative nature that you are inspired to express your 'true
self' and go after your heart desires. As your authenticity
grows, the gremlins voice and power also wanes and eventually
there is nothing that can deter you from acting on and realizing
your heart dreams.
About the author:
Over the past 27 years, As a Facilitator and Life Coach I have
had the privilege to work with people who have focused upon and
achieved the following types of goals: Creating a new career,
achieving health and fitness goals, creating more fun in life,
achieving more life balance, reducing stress, improving
communication, creating more fulfilling relationships,
developing spiritual awareness, mastering emotions, and opening
more to creativity.
Written by: Alana Tobin
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