Painting the Canvas of our Lives

Recently, a client of mine wanted some clarity and direction around how to approach her future planning and choice making in a more positive and resourceful way versus through paralysing fear and anxiety. Through a session designed around a guided visualization she produced a beautiful metaphor that gave her the answers and insights she was after. In her vision, she saw herself as a child sitting at a desk with a blank canvas and many colours to choose from. In seeing this, she was reminded of a time in her childhood where she had been given a similar blank canvas and had felt overwhelming anxiety and pressure over producing what she felt had to be a "masterpiece", not knowing where to begin, what picture she was trying to create and how it would all turn out in the end. After a moment, she then remembered that once she had picked up the very first colour and just let herself make the first mark on the canvas, her feelings, instincts and innate creativity just guided her, and a beautiful picture naturally unfolded into it's own masterpiece.

The message and meaning that resonates for me in this image, is that our lives are so much like that blank canvas, with so many colours, styles and pictures to choose from, and that we often experience so much worry and anxiety about the outcome and creating perfection, that we stop ourselves from picking up the first colour and even making the first mark on our page. If we can relax, live more in the present and have faith in our own instincts to guide us, a beautiful masterpiece is more likely to emerge and come to life in full colour.

Procrastination: The Mask of Fear

Have you ever really wanted to do or achieve something but found yourself in a state of procrastination and inactivity? Why should doing something you want be so hard at times? Many people equate procrastination with laziness or lack of motivation, however if you delve deeper, it becomes clear that procrastination is often the outward mask of our inner fears and sub-level operating system of limiting beliefs that hold us back from doing and getting us what we want. In other words, procrastination is not so much a sign of laziness as it is an avoidance maneuver we perform, that protects us from a greater perceived threat then inactivity. More simply put the sequence is as follows:

Idea/Motivating Thought
Limiting Belief
Fear Response
Protective Avoidance Mechanism
Inertia
Feeling and Staying Stuck.

So if fear is the root of inactivity, what is it we are all so afraid of? Many of us carry deep rooted insecurities and fears of failure, inadequacy, embarrassment, rejection, change, isolation and even success in relation to our goals or aspirations. We have an idea or inspiration around something we want, and instantly, our inner critic/negative belief default mechanism kicks in:

"I'm not good enough.", "I'm not smart enough.", I'm not creative or talented enough." "I'm not organized enough." "What if it doesn't work out?", "What if I fail?" "What will others think?" "It's safer not to try."

Does this sound familiar? We all do this on some level, especially when the stakes are high, but if we can get behind the negative limitations of our fears and see their positive intention (self-protection, security, confidence, preparedness, need for learning/guidance) we can overcome the fear-based inertia by taking conscious and pro-active steps that not only alleviate our fears but actually bring us closer to achieving what we want.

To explore this idea, take a look at something you have wanted to do for sometime but haven't and consider the following:

What am I avoiding?
What am I afraid of?
What are the risks involved in moving forward?
What aspects of these risk factors are within my control?
What is the positive intention for me behind my inability to proceed?
What steps can I take, in alignment with this intention, that will allow me to move forward?
What is the end result of staying stuck?

By acknowledging your fears and addressing them specifically and directly with small and manageable steps that are within your control, you will surprize and amaze yourself with what you can actually do and accomplish.