[SIZE=+0]Pay Attention to Your Metaphors[/SIZE]
There was a time in my life when everything seemed to be falling apart, and on every front. Every time I achieved some semblance of stability, another wave would rock the boat of my life (that is a metaphor).
One day I made the comment that it felt like every time I came up for air, a giant thumb came down from out of the sky and pushed me back down under the water. Then it dawned on me (dawn - another metaphor) that I could just as accurately have said that every time I slipped down under the water, a giant hand came up from below and lifted me to safety (another metaphor).
Every day, we each use metaphors to simplify the world around us, and to describe our own circumstances and feelings. These metaphors pop up as automatically and unconsciously as mental screensavers (another metaphor).
The metaphors that we choose to use can have a profound influence on our attitudes, whether positive or negative.
Ask someone how they're doing and you're likely to hear some variation on, "Oh, I'm hanging in there." That is also a metaphor.
While this is perhaps intended as a harmless throwaway line, every time you use it, you are insidiously reinforcing the subconscious impression that you are desperate (Hanging by the fingernails? Hanging by the neck?).
An optimistic, positive and enthusiastic person does not "hang in there." That's a metaphor reserved for those who, in Thoreau's memorable phrase, "lead lives of quiet desperation."
The next time someone asks you how you're doing, why don't you come up with a more empowering metaphor. Like this: "I'm walking on water. Thanks for asking."
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Joe Tye is president of Paradox 21 Inc., which provides corporate training and culture change initiatives based on a proprietary curriculum of The Twelve Core Action Values of Personal Leadership Effectiveness. He is also the author of several books and audio programs on personal, career, and business success, and a popular motivational speaker. Visit http://www.joetye.com
There was a time in my life when everything seemed to be falling apart, and on every front. Every time I achieved some semblance of stability, another wave would rock the boat of my life (that is a metaphor).
One day I made the comment that it felt like every time I came up for air, a giant thumb came down from out of the sky and pushed me back down under the water. Then it dawned on me (dawn - another metaphor) that I could just as accurately have said that every time I slipped down under the water, a giant hand came up from below and lifted me to safety (another metaphor).
Every day, we each use metaphors to simplify the world around us, and to describe our own circumstances and feelings. These metaphors pop up as automatically and unconsciously as mental screensavers (another metaphor).
The metaphors that we choose to use can have a profound influence on our attitudes, whether positive or negative.
Ask someone how they're doing and you're likely to hear some variation on, "Oh, I'm hanging in there." That is also a metaphor.
While this is perhaps intended as a harmless throwaway line, every time you use it, you are insidiously reinforcing the subconscious impression that you are desperate (Hanging by the fingernails? Hanging by the neck?).
An optimistic, positive and enthusiastic person does not "hang in there." That's a metaphor reserved for those who, in Thoreau's memorable phrase, "lead lives of quiet desperation."
The next time someone asks you how you're doing, why don't you come up with a more empowering metaphor. Like this: "I'm walking on water. Thanks for asking."
___________
Joe Tye is president of Paradox 21 Inc., which provides corporate training and culture change initiatives based on a proprietary curriculum of The Twelve Core Action Values of Personal Leadership Effectiveness. He is also the author of several books and audio programs on personal, career, and business success, and a popular motivational speaker. Visit http://www.joetye.com