Trickster Alert!
What do I mean by tricksters? The little (or not so little) voices in our head, which tell us that if we listen to them, we’ll be happier, feel better, and be free from emotional pain. When we are under their spell, all unpleasantness will be swept away. Well, at least that’s their promise, the seduction which hooks us into believing. Until, that is, we awaken to our truth.
I’m speaking of the saboteur characters which populate our stories. Let’s take a look at Antsy Avoider. Recently, she assured me that I didn’t have to worry about doing the bothersome task at hand, my website, because I could always do it later. She asserted that I deserved a nice long break to do something fun. Who wouldn’t listen to that, right?
“Okay, cool, I’ll go do something fun!”
However, when I step into this character’s plot, I end up more stressed, more anxious. I also experience shame that I’m not accomplishing what I set out to do.
Hmm…how’s that working for me?
I was procrastinating, big time! Didn’t want to do it-it freaked me out- and I have such better things to do with my time, ya know? So, it’s taken me over a year to do. During which, I’d struggle, beat myself up, do some work on it, feel overwhelmed, do something else, feel anxious and bad. Sound like a familiar story?
Time for the rewrite!
Once I recognized Antsy’s presence, I paused and brought in the heroine, my true essence Self who actually knows what’s up. Now, I, the protagonist, was able to make a different choice as to how to approach this project, and I began moving forward with ease and flow.
In this chapter, I take a couple breaths and center myself. My Self faces Antsy Avoider - enter the faceoff! I look at her with curiosity.
“So, Antsy, from what are you protecting me and distracting me?”
The plot thickens…
Turns out she thinks she’s doing me a favor, protecting me from unwanted judgment and discomfort. She’s protecting me from rejection, from feelings of not being good enough. She’s actually protecting me from my own perfectionist barrage.
Now we’re getting somewhere. I saw the scared little girl inside that just wanted to be enough. She needed my empathy and encouragement.
At this point, what’s one thing this protagonist can do to develop character and move the plot forward, ie get the website done?
Ask a dear friend, who’s in the biz, for help.
That has made all the difference. I was not alone in doing it, we collaborated, laughed, grunted- well I grunted occasionally when frustrated. However, I quickly recovered and brought myself back to the task at hand.
The moral of the story: There will always be tricksters. You, the protagonist, have full support of the heroine.
Together you save the day!
