by Rosaleen Bloomfield

Imagine…

You know what you want. The big goal is clear. You’ve defined your challenging and reachable goal.

It is well-formed – specific, measurable, time-bound, positive and expressed in the present tense. You know the resources that will be required and the signs that will indicate that it has been reached. You’ve even broken this goal down into smaller manageable steps. The action plan is defined. You are pleased with yourself. Excited and rearing to go… 

Suddenly, from dark rocks immediately behind you a thin, sharp, metaphorical arrow fires. It enters your head and lodges itself in the mind and lo and behold you feel unable to take action - paralyzed. 

Past negative programming has invited itself in, in a flash, and before you know it your excitement and positive feelings are draining away. Doubts have crept in. Limiting beliefs about what is possible are taking root. You wonder, can I really do this. Can I really execute and implement this master plan and get it to work. Mind obstacles proliferate.

Then, a solid impenetrable wall of sea water appears to the right in the mind. The vastness and depth of the entire ocean supports it and when the next doubting arrow flies in, from its shadow rock home behind you, it hits the wall of sea, loses momentum and energy and falls flat. It is unable to get into the mind and make a new home there.

Miraculously, you feel lighter and mental clarity is back. You are surer about your goals. Belief, faith and trust swim freely in the heart. The wall of sea is the doubts buster. Like magic, the doubts just seem to stop.  And where did this wall come from. It appeared as the client answered the coach's question.

You agree with your coach to observe over the next fortnight or so to see what happens next. Once this metaphoric wall appears it seems to work silently and like magic it has cleansed the mind of the doubts.  

It is my story as a client from a few of my clean language and symbolic modelling coaching sessions...