The Shoes weren't walking, but they were talking - in Metaphor
Posted on March 10, 2010 by Jan Laferriere, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Not doing something has a message for a higher intention
The shoes. A fine pair of leather shoes. Expensive – a dress to impress pair of shoes, a finer detail of the professional man.
And yet, dusty they sit, waiting to be polished.
He is a driven man, a young entrepreneur destined for greatness, intent on climbing the ladder to success. He knows he should polish the shoes and take the next step forward into the business world. The world of all potential is awaiting his grand entrance.
But the shoes sit. Waiting. Daily he sees them, intent that today he will polish the shoes.
“How long will it really take to polish the shoes? Five minutes? I should polish the shoes today”, he thinks. “Yes, today I will polish the shoes.”
Good intentions unmet. It’s amazing how quickly two weeks of good intent has slipped by. And the shoes sit still untouched. That inner resistance of knowing he should, and yet not following through, consumes a huge amount of mental energy draining him like a leaky tap.
So this became a focus of our coaching call. I know that every behaviour has a positive intent. The unpolished shoes, being a brilliant metaphor from his subconscious mind, was trying to communicate with him.
And so being adventurous, we began to explore. “What do the shoes want?” He replied “I don’t know.”Okay, then let’s ask it this way, “What would happen if the shoes got polished and you put them on?”
“Oh,” he replied. “Let’s see, I’d put them on and have to go walking and make business appointments.”
And then as his coach, I wondered aloud, “And how is that a problem? What is their intention? What is it that the shoes want for you?”
“Ohhhh, good question!” he responded. Now knowing he is a very driven man who pushes himself hard to succeed, he discovered that the shoes wanted him to increase leisure time and self-care! The business shoes meant more busy-ness, and since he was already so self-driven, that resistant part wanted more enjoyment for a feeling of better balance.
Aaaaaha! I love the light bulb moments! He decided that he would schedule a run – something he loves doing.
So he scheduled and committed to doing a run in the upcoming week! On our next coaching call he confirmed he indeed had enjoyed a long run, and was amazed how easily the shoes just got polished!
Summary of this Metaphor:
It is amazing just how much energy is wasted with procrastination. The inner anguish of feeling you should do something, yet procrastinating at large with that uneasy feeling running in the background. How draining has that been? What resistances have been draining you up until now?
Know that every behaviour, even procrastination, has a positive intention. So consider what you may have been putting off, and what positive intent could that behaviour want for you? What area might be neglected in your life, that when you just do it, will now create a greater feeling of inner peace and balance?
1. Choose an area that you’ve been procrastinating and losing energy.
2. Consider the symbolic metaphor.
3. What positive intention could it have for you? What does it want for you?
4. Schedule a positive action for the week to honour that neglected part.
5. Notice how much that now increases your energy.
