I don't know how familiar you are with Richard Carson's concept of the Gremlin, so here's a brief explanation.

First of all, we all have Gremlins. They are the little (or not so little) voices that nag at us all the time. Sometimes they try hard to keep us safe, to not try new things. Sometimes they tell us that whatever it is we are doing, it's not good enough, fast enough, clever enough. . . Gremlins also are those intrusive little thoughts that tell us we should be doing something else. They're really good at getting us trapped between a rock and a hard place, at least in our own minds, and they love putting us in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" sort of bind.

Our Gremlins are always present, but sometimes they are a lot louder than at other times. Often, they like to disguise their messages as really coming from ourselves. So the first thing to do in learning to deal with your Gremlins is to learn how to distinguish their voices from yours. Here are some clues:

You might have a Gremlin present:

- When your thoughts are running around in circles.

- When you can't win, no matter what.

- When it is more important to do things for others than to take care of yourself.

- When you are creatively blocked.

- When nothing is fun.

- When everything you are doing is wrong.

- When you're operating from "should" instead of "could" or "have to" instead of "choose to."

- When you are arguing with yourself.

- When your "to do" list keeps growing, and everything on it is top priority.

- When you're awake and worrying at 3:00 AM. And 3:30 AM. And 4:00 AM.

- When you're nagging yourself to death.

- When you're worrying about a million things at once, and not taking action on any of them.

- When you feel as if you are under incredible time pressure and will never get anything done on time. When every decision or option is stupid.

- When you can't focus.

- When you only hear the criticism and not the praise. Or when you discount the praise.

(My personal Gremlin was really acting up when I wrote this, so I'm pretty sure it's accurate!)

When does your Gremlin show up? See if you can notice him (or her, or it, or them) at least fifteen times this week, and e-mail me with your discoveries.

For a much more detailed explanation of Gremlins, and how to tame them, read Richard Carson's book, Taming Your Gremlin. It is available from MYM at http://www.manageyourmuse.com/reading/index.html.

NOTE: You are welcome to use this article online in electronic newsletters and e-zines as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info). If use of this article is desired in print, you must first contact Lynn Cutts at Lynn@ManageYourMuse.com.

Copyright 2005 Lynn Cutts

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