Greetings
I did a fun exercise with my granddaughters
yesterday. They were at my house for 3 days during
their Spring Break. We did the usual trip
to Screamin Meamie's (ice cream parlor), took a bike
ride, rented a couple DVDs and visited the Snoopy
Museum.
Right before their dad was scheduled to pick them up,
I decided to ask them to explore their Gremlins with
me.
Gremlin taming is a tool we use in the coaching
industry. The first step is to identify your Gremlin.
Your
Gremlin is the narrator in your head who tells you who
you are and how you are. She defines and interprets
your every experience. She wants you to accept her
interpretations as reality. Her goal, from moment to
moment, day to day, is to squelch the natural, vibrant
you within.
My oldest granddaughter, Lexi, had no trouble
identifying her Gremlin. "Bossy smart-aleck" she told
me. I tried to keep from laughing in recognition. I
asked her
what her Gremlin's main activity was and she replied,
"Bossing her little sister around and talking back to her
mom and dad."
Then I asked her to draw a picture of her Gremlin. It
was quite scarry. She loved doing the exercise. Then I
asked her about my Gremlin. She called my Gremlin,
"Crabby". I asked her what my Gremlin would say, "Go
brush your teeth, NOW," she replied.
When Sadie, the 5-year-old came in, I asked her to
identify her Gremlin. She just shrugged and didn't have
a clue. However, Lexi knew exactly who Sadie's
Gremlin was — "Screamin Little Brat".
Sadie drew a picture of her Gremlin. It was half-cat
and
half-dog with it's back reared up ready to strike out at
anyone that came near her. It reminded me of how
she looks sometimes when she gets really fed up with
her older sister.
I loved doing this exercise with the kids. Hopefully it
helped
them identify that part of
themselves that they are sometimes embarrassed
about.
I loved hearing about the Crabby aspect of myself. I
do tend to
get a bit crabby when they argue with me about every
little thing.
For more information on identifying your Gremlin, give
me a call for a free 30 minute coaching session.
707-578-4226. or get the book, Taming Your Gremlin
by Rick Carson.
