Foundation & Visioning

Your gremlin (aka "inner critic") is a little shit. It says tons of things all day that are major buzzkills and totally deflate any happy daydreaming you might have going on. Today just be aware of what your gremlin says and when it speaks up. Notice that subtle (or no-so-subtle) voice that says things like, "Yeah right, like that'll ever happen." "You're not pretty enough." "You're not smart or creative enough." "If they knew the real you no one would like you, let alone love you."

Damn. Serious shtuff.

Be aware. Forget the WHY.

Just simply be AWARE.

This might sound too simple, but awareness is where is all starts.

Until you become aware of when your inner critic likes to speak up, of what it says, and the sneaky ways it works its way into your head, taming it will seem overwhelming. So for now, simply notice;)

Share in the FB group what's one inner-mean-girl statement (aka gremlin talk) you have that you are aware of?

Love,

Ana

Now that you've spent a bit of time noticing and becoming aware of your inner critic, let's get to know it a bit better. Things that we ignore or push aside always seem scarier than they really are. 😉

One exercise often used for gremlin-taming is to write a detailed description about it. For example, what does your "gremlin" looks like? Is it a charicature of someone or something you know? Like a snarky little librarian, an elementary school bully, or an old baglady?

Does it have a scent? If it isn't an obvious image, does it have a color? Or general shape?

I've had clients tell me theirs looks like a wild-haired spinster or a little ugly troll, a dark looming cloud, or a bitchy high school cheerleader. Don't judge what your looks like! And don't judge yourself for your ability/inability to be able to draw or describe it accurately. We don't need another gremlin in the mix!

Remember to have fun with this - and if it's easier for you to find a picture from the internet or a magazine, do that. I find it easier to have my gremlin look like something I can laugh at;)

Journal about your gremlin and share in the FB group - in as many or as few words as you wish! Feel free to draw or attach an image of it if you drew it or found something that looked like it too;)

Love,

Ana

PS: Remember to move yer butt every day, for at least 20 minutes!

What situations make your inner critic speak up more and more, or get louder and louder? For me, it's when I am looking at fashion magazines, comparing myself to my partner's ex-girlfriends, or when I am about to get my period and I haven't been eating well (which seems to really affect it!).

Common scenarios for your inner critic to get all worked up are:

Times of BIG transition and change (thinking about quitting your job, leaving a toxic relationship, etc)
When you start practicing trying to listen to your intuition (instead of your annoying gremlin)
Comparing yourself to others
When your family/society/culture/religion is letting you know you aren't meeting their expectations
When hormones go whacky
When you are about to take a risk (like give a public talk, ask someone out on a date, etc)
Write about these situations so you can integrate what your triggers are. When you learn about your triggers, you can avoid them (if it is practical and helpful) and they have way less power.

Share in the FB group: Let us know below if there was anything about your triggers that was super obvious or surprising.

Love,

Ana

OK - so you've gotten more info about when your inner critic gets triggered. Here's where the rubber meets the road and you start taking some action:

First ask: What triggers do you have control over? For example, you may have control over not perusing over fashion magazines that make you feel like shit. You may have way less control over when your three-year-old step kid tells you stories about how cool their "other" mom is.

For now, we're going to let go of the things we can't control. That, amiga, is one of the greatest lessons in life. So go ahead and play with this idea!

Instead, we are going to focus on the things we DO have control over, and remove those triggers (or remove ourselves from those situations). These situations are definitely not worth the negative effect they have on your life!

For example, I have stopped flipping through fashion magazines at airports and I immediately throw away "free" magazines that arrive at my door, including Victoria's Secret catalogs. I am now happy to have let them go - my life has become much more peaceful because of it.

You may consider not allowing yourself to Facebook-stalk competitors in your industry so you can begin to stop comparing yourself to them and how many "friends" they have, or what awesome vacation they just got back from. Maybe you can stop hanging out with the toxic "friend" who always has you feeling "less than" when you are with them (remember: you don't need to know WHY this happens with them). You get the idea;)

What is one thing you can do today that will remove a gremlin trigger from your life? Do it NOW .

Share in the FB group: What is one thing you can do today that will remove a negative thought trigger from your life?

Love,

Ana

PS: You've got 3 more days to commit to moving every day. Be sure to do it! If you fell off the wagon, get back on, and watch those gremlins that tell you to not bother if you didn't do it yet.

I do it, you do it, we all do it: COMPARING. It sucks. It serves an ancient survival purpose for sure: we can assess what tools the other neanderthal was using and learn from it so that we, too, may have fire. We can see why homeslice is scoring more babes with that funny dance he does with his costume, so we learn those moves to increase the odds of having offspring. Those types of comparisons - where we learned something - were helpful back in the day, and our brain naturally does it.

But the point is: we don't need to do that with so many of the things we compare ourselves to these days. Usually, when we compare in modern times, it isn't to learn something - it is to feel crappier about ourselves for not being "as good as" the other.

Who do you find yourself comparing yourself to? This list can be comprised of famous people, fictional characters (yes, people DO compare themselves to heroes/heroines in movies), and people you know or barely know.

In Byron Katie's The Work, she encourages four questions when working with the inner critic, two of which I'd like you to ask yourself a variation of right now:

How do you act, and what happens, when you make this comparison?

What would happen if you let go of this comparison?

If you're already in our "secret" discussion group, let us know the one comparison you found most embarrassing. Like I sometimes compare myself to Angeline Jolie and feel crappy that I'm not a pilot AND saving the world with 5 kids in tow...or something like that. Yikes!

(Note: Below you'll find a link for an activity that I think is really useful for prepping for our Clarity week. It's a Values Clarification worksheet, and I'd like you to complete it before we start our next week if you can. Enjoy! Really digging into what we really care about can be a ton of fun, and super insightful.)

Share in the FB group: How do you act, and what happens, when you make this comparison? What would happen if you let go of this comparison?

Love,

Ana

Downloads

ZUMP Values Clarification Exercises

Yeehaw! It's been a week! I know getting into it with your inner critic can be intense, so I wanted to let you know I think it's amazing that you're doing this at all. It shows you aren't going to settle. Awesome!

While you're kicking your Saboteur's ass, I wanted to remind you of something: This, yes THIS, is your life.

What did you do yesterday? What are you planning for today?

Know that what you choose to spend your precious time on sends a million messages to the Universe about what you desire. And the Universe is just waiting for you to demand joy! Or brilliant success with the big goal! Or a healthy and smokin' bod! And I know this isn't a huge news flash--but you, control your time and your choices.

Set yourself up to win, eh?

Ask yourself:

• How am I spending my days right now?
• What activities feel like they are holding me back?
• Which ones are giving me energy and strength?
• And, the ever-important follow-up: How can I start right this very moment to spend more time on the sweet-spot activities?
• Share in the FB group: Let's take that ever-important follow-up: How can you start right this very moment to spend more time on the sweet-spot activities?

Love,

Ana