The Owl Decoy
On my morning walk the other day, I noticed several large silvery-white shapes hanging from a tree. At first, I wondered whether they might be Halloween decorations, as they looked ghost-like from a distance. I took a closer look and realized they were owl decoys, made from a reflective plastic material. I'm guessing the owner wanted to keep birds from eating the tree's fruit.
The owl decoy idea stayed with me as I made my way home. I recently coached a client who was building her business and was afraid of using social media. She found it scary and worried that it would take over her life. She had been avoiding it, yet at the same time, felt guilty that she wasn't using it to her advantage.
As we talked, we explored her perception of social media, what she had control over (her time and attention) and what was out of her control (what everyone else did). She came to the realization that her brain was reacting to the shimmering owls hanging in the tree (her story about fear), but upon closer examination, they were nothing but decoys. Following our conversation, she confidently committed to spending time exploring social media to better understand how to use it for her business. The fear was gone, the owl decoys no longer prevented her from enjoying the tree's fruit!
It only took one conversation to go beyond the initial belief. It's a survival mechanism; our brains love to create stories about what we can and can't do based on assumptions and beliefs we pick up, sometimes quite haphazardly. I then wondered about the owl decoys I might have collected in my life (intentionally or not).
How often have I created a story or a perceived obstacle that prevented me from doing something?
I realize now that I have quite a nice collection of owl decoys happily nesting in my brain. Might it be time to take a closer look?
Wishing you a day free of owl decoys so that you can freely pursue your goals, dreams, and passions!
Cynthia
Neighborhood passionflower, one who is not afraid of doing her own thing! Summer 2021