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DEFEATING THE GREMLINS

We can express our ideas in several forms - visually, orally,
musically, and through the written word - and Gremlins can show up
to inhibit any and all of these forms of expression. But, I’m going
to focus on the act of writing because so much of our expression of
ideas, thoughts, and feelings still occurs in writing.

What are Gremlins?

Gremlin is the name I use to characterize a particular set of
challenges and problems. Gremlins are creatures of thought. Though
formless they can exert great power and influence and stop you
cold!

Where do Gremlins come from?

Gremlins live and hide in the dark, deep, corners of your mind.
Seriously. In 17 years of coaching, I’ve found that most of the
problems my clients had with expressing themselves had little to do
with their actual ability. That is, the problem wasn’t that they
didn’t know how to write or weren’t familiar with the basics of
grammar and composition. It was that they COULDN’T write - when
they most needed to. They were STUCK, FROZEN. Yep! The problem was
"all in their head" - and, maybe in yours too.

Where do they come from?

Gremlins are thought patterns which are often formed and installed
by powerful or high impact experiences we’ve had - often negative
ones. For example, a ‘mantra’ constantly repeated by a parent, such
as "Don’t say anything that would embarrass us in front of the
neighbours!" Sometimes a single powerful, negative experience can
create a Gremlin. For example, my step-mom once said something to
me that hurt so deeply I simply stuffed my feelings - for many
years (a little extreme no?)

How do you know when the problem is caused by a Gremlin and when
it’s a real problem?

Let’s face it we do have ‘real’ problems that get in the way of
expressing ourselves how and when we want to. These include: not
enough time, too many things to do, lack of energy (physical,
emotional, and/or psychic), and physical limitations like pain and
other health challenges.

One question I sometimes ask my clients who are struggling is, "If
you were forced to do this could you? That is, is the problem that
you don’t know how to do ‘it’ or is something else holding you
back?" The actual wording I sometimes use is, "If I put a gun to
your head would you know how?" If the answer is YES, then the
problem is Gremlin related.

Can you give me some examples of Gremlins in action?

I’m happy to. Here’s a few:

- Every time you sit down to write that chapter that’s long overdue
to your editor you feel an overwhelming sense of anxiety. So, you
do anything to avoid writing - or even sitting down to write.

- You start to write and keep editing and rewriting the same few
paragraphs over and over again. I call this Gremlin "The Inner
Editor". It shows up in professionals, like me, who have a tendency
toward being Perfectionists.

- You have a newsletter due but can’t think of a topic. However, as
you examine things you realize that the ‘real issue’ is you have
lots of ideas but none of them are ‘important enough’ to be shared
with your readers. After all, your readers expect only important,
‘big’ ideas from you - not mundane, ordinary stuff.

- You struggle and struggle and struggle with the wording of a
piece of marketing communication. As you reflect on it, you realize
you fear saying anything that’s "too pushy", or too "salesy", or
"inauthentic", or that would make you look foolish.

A look at solutions for Defeating the Gremlins in a moment . . .

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DEFEAT YOUR GREMLINS - 4 GREMLINS DEFEATED FOR THE PRICE OF 3!

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- Sorting out your life and career priorities,
- Expression Block (used to be called Writer’s Block) - You have
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To get signup information, send an email to
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Please be sure to mention the 4 for the price of 3 offer in the
body of your e-mail.

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DEFEATING THE GREMLINS

I have a compulsion to express myself - often in writing. And, I’ve
battled my own share of Gremlins (some even while writing this
article).

Here’s a few of the techniques for Defeating the Gremlins that have
worked for me and my clients.

1. Identify Whether It’s Real or It’s a Gremlin

Remember what I said, "you have real problems". Real problems
require different solutions than do Gremlins. One way to identify
if it’s a Gremlin challenge is to simply ask yourself, "Do I know
how to do this?" If the honest answer is NO, then you have a skill
deficiency. Get some training. Get some skill coaching (my coaching
doesn’t just focus on Gremlins). Find a book. Search the Web. Ask a
friend. Get the help you need.

If, on the other hand, you’ve done this before and you DO know how
. . . well you have a Gremlin on your hands. And, knowing that IS
important. Because following are a few Gremlin defeating tactics
you can use.

2. Dealing With The Inner Editor Gremlin

As a Recovering Perfectionist I have a ‘need’ to make sure
everything I produce is . . . er, well perfect. So, I can get lost
in endlessly rewriting the opening paragraphs of a piece of work.
Here are some ways I deal with The Inner Editor.

a) I learned this technique years ago on a business writing
workshop (Thanks Andrew Vujonvich). When I find myself in the
endless rewrite loop I simply repeat this mantra: "First get it
down. Then get it good!" Sounds corny but it works like a darn. It
helps to kick me out of that perfection loop.

b) Set a limit. I used to edit my newsletter 5 or 6 times. I set a
limit of two overall edits and out it goes. I know there may be
typo’s and grammar glitches but I’d rather get a product out the
door than not. And, I hope my readers will find the content useful
and forgive the occasional oops. Moreover, I’ve found that even
after multiple edits there can still be typos and other errors -
more edits does NOT guarantee perfection.

c) Sometimes the Inner Editor shows up as a critical voice: "Who do
you think you’re fooling." "Nobody will read this dreck." And, oh
so many other negative observations. Listen carefully and you may
find it sounds like one of your parents - particularly if you had a
critical parent. The challenge here is that the ‘advice’ the Inner
Editor is ’sharing’ may have originally useful - but now it’s not.
It’s freezing you up. What I do is say, "Thanks for the advice. Now
F**k off!" Sometimes, I have to say something like that (you don’t
have to be as profane as me) several times. Sometimes I do the
virtual equivalent of plugging my ears and saying, "la, la, la, la,
I don’t hear you!" I know it’s silly but it works!

More Gremlin defeating advice in a moment . . .

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GENRE BUSTERS(TM) CREATE THE CAREER OF YOUR DREAMS

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DEFEATING THE GREMLINS

3. Overcoming The Anxiety/Fear/Dread Gremlin

You sit down to write. You feel overwhelmed with negative emotions
like anxiety, dread, panic, or plain old fear.

What can you do?

Here are some ideas:

a) Take a deep breath. Take another one. And, another. And,
another. This will help drain the tension away - and alleviate the
yucky feeling in your guts that’s distracting you.

b) Just write for 10 minutes. Even if you think that what you are
writing is crap. Once you get into the act of writing you may just
find the negativity draining away. Oh, and that stuff you wrote -
maybe it ain’t gold but it may not be garbage either.

c) Consider working with an Energy Therapist. My colleague Joan
Hitlin is developing a whole suite of tools for defeating negative
emotions (and Gremlins) that she calls MojoMorphosis. You can find
Joan here.

Would you like more ideas on Defeating Your Gremlins?

Then check out this Blog.

I’ll be posting more tips over the next week. And, please don’t be
shy. Feel free to comment on my post and share some of your own
Gremlins and how you defeated them.