Let’s be clear, I am not talking about the sweet Gizmo and his cute friends turning into naughty creatures after midnight, I am talking about this part of you that tries to prevent you from making a change in your life. Here is a little explanation! Sometimes our desires, dreams and life itself inspire us to make a change (being drastic or not), to create and experience something new. This change would lead us out of our comfort zone, out there in the world. And as optimistic as we can consciously be, there is always an inner voice around. Unfortunately for us, this voice takes all of our limiting beliefs, doubts and fear of the unknown, to try to talk us out of our idea, out of our dream.
You all know what this voice says: “You can’t do this.”, “Why you?”, “You will fail”, “Why bother?”, “Go to bed and think about it tomorrow”, and so many other things I am sure you have told yourself so many times. You think it’s some kind of truth, and your situation is not so bad after all, so you may surrender to this voice. Well guess what, this voice is your gremlin. This gremlin takes the mask of a protective friend, trying to protect you from the cruel world outside, and from the fears and challenges you will have to face. Truth being told, this inner voice is not your friend. It is only the result of your limiting beliefs, resisting the change. Your gremlin doesn’t want you to change, and it is really good at doing its job. Why is that? Just because it’s the expression of years of deep-rooted beliefs that are now appearing as a reality and not beliefs you can change.
Don’t worry, here are some tips so you can spot your gremlin and win the inner game!
1- Listen carefully to your inner-talk
Whenever you are on the edge to take a life-changing decision or make a simple change, that’s when you consider the pros and the cons, see all the perspectives, and yes, that’s when the inner game begins. 2 sides are going to fight: your optimist and driven self, with great ideas and wanting to move forward, and the fake friend, trying to talk you out of your decision. That’s when you need to consciously be aware of your inner-talk. Listen to the voices in your mind, and try to spot which one is the gremlin talking. Remember, that’s the one telling you that it’s not worth it! And who gets to decide if it’s worth it or not? Who gets to decide if you are capable or not? You are capable of more than you think, and of more than your gremlin is trying to make you think.
2- Decide on what voice to listen
As simple as that, but not easy. Because I told you, the gremlin is strong, it’s smart and wants to win. So it’s your job to make the difference between the voices in your mind. The voice you want to listen is the one telling you that it’s possible, that you would even see positive aspects in the worst-case scenario that could happen. You can also choose to listen to your gremlin, in that case you can stop reading this article now, as you are not ready to embrace change in your life. If you are still wondering what’s the right choice to make, let me tell you something: THERE ARE NO LIMITS TO WHAT YOU CAN DO, YOU ARE CAPABLE OF ANYTHING IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT MINDSET! Got it?
3- Do the inner work
You have analyzed the voices in your mind (no you are not crazy, you hear voices and it’s totally normal!), you have chosen to listen to your power, you believe in yourself, now it’s time to get working!! Your work is not to make your gremling shut up, as it never will. You have to live with this voice, so your work is to stay alert, to go on noticing your self-talk on a daily basis. At first it is not an easy job, as we naturally tend to stay in our own mind and be driven by it instead of observing what’s going on in there. But everybody can master it in time, the trick is to observe your thoughts, not judge them, and ask yourself a simple question : Why am I thinking that? If the answer is because of past experiences, of fears (of success, of failure, of the unknown, etc.), of a thinking pattern you’ve had for as long as you remember, then your gremlin may be trying to talk you out of your idea.
4- Be kind and patient with yourself
You don’t reprogram your mind overnight, you don’t become your best and powerful self overnight, and there is no magic wand to mastering your thoughts and respond to them. But if it’s a work you are willing to do, allow yourself to go at your own pace, and to celebrate every time you win a battle against your gremlin. Remember that every change you want to make in your life will bring you fear and doubt, and obstacles you will have to overcome. If you are committed to make a change, any change, there are no obstacle that can be stronger than you are. Believe in yourself, believe in your potential, your talent and your power, and go get what you want!
PS: Have fun with the process of identifying your gremlin, give it a face if you wish, a personality. Learn to know it and make friends with it! Mine is myself as a teenager, bored and unimpressed of everything, and believe me she is good at what she does, but I am better, wiser, and smarter, and so are you! Don’t stop believing in the possibilities.