Is life like a box of chocolates or a roller coaster?  Maybe life is like a tree or a tight-rope walk.  Perhaps you see life like a dance or a report card.  Metaphors don’t just affect us as individuals, they affect our community and our world as well.  The metaphors you choose for your personal relationship or your work will affect how you view them and how you relate to others.  By selecting appropriate and empowering metaphors you will positively affect your life, your work and your relationships.

Imagine if Forest Gump’s mother told him life was like a den of snakes!  He would perceive all circumstances and people in a different light.  Others would also perceive and relate to him differently.  Basicly, the movie would look a lot different and have a much different ending I’m thinking.

What is Your Life Metaphor?

You can help to shape your life by identifying what metaphor you currently have for life , work or relationships and then evaluate if your metaphor is negatively or positively influencing you.  You have control over your “movie” and what the ending will look like!

I bet if you felt like life is like a tight-rope walk that changing your metaphor to “life is like bouncing on a trampoline” you would experience some benefits.  Walking a tight rope all the time would make one weary and tired from always having to perform, strive for perfection and worst case scenario, make a mistake(fall off)!  Whereas if you pictured life like a bounce on a trampoline you might feel as if Life’s got your back.  You might believe that you will never fall hard enough that you can’t get back up.  Living life this way would probably make living a lot more fun and adventurous because every decision or opportunity may bring you to higher heights, not to mention being able to give others double bounces to help out.

In Romantic Relationships

Consider calling your spouse “my love” or “my better half” versus “this jerk I’m with.”  You will notice instantly how your choice of descriptive words dramatically influences how you feel about the person!

 

What Area Of Your Life Impacts You The Most?

Maybe you would like to explore your metaphor for learning, children, your parents or your business.  Exploring them allows you to create new choices for your life.  If admitting mistakes is “like pulling teeth” you might want to re-evaluate that one!

One Caution:  Choose metaphors for each different area of life.  You wouldn’t want to apply a metaphor you have for work to your family.  Your family might not appreciate that very much!  Likewise, the metaphor you choose for your romantic relationship you may not work so well if you apply it to your work life.

Take control of your metaphors and start creating a new world for yourself.  Start by asking yourself, “What is Life.”  Write a list of everything that comes to mind and then ask yourself what each means to you..  All metaphors have their advantages and disadvantages.  What are yours?  What new metaphors do you want to adopt in order to feel more happy and free?