What Are Gremlins
What are gremlins? They are your inner critic or voices that talk to you within your head. There is a book called “Taming Your Gremlin” by Rick Carson. Although I have never read the whole book, an ex-coach of mine highly recommends it.
We all have one or more gremlins inside continuously sitting on our shoulders and harassing us. I have two. Mine are negativity and fearfulness. I named one “Inner Meanie Girl, and the other “The Terrible Whatzit”. I find if I name them, it is easier to fight them. Inner Meany Girl is my negative and mean self talk, and the Terrible Whatzit (which is a title of a children’s book) represents my fears and worries. It is the fear that stops me in my tracks, and keeps me from trying new but scary things.
How many do you have, and what can you name them? Use your journal to keep track of what each says to you. Do this for at least 3 days.
After doing this, use your journal to decide how you are going to talk back to your gremlins. This is very important. Come up with two or more statements that you can say to yourself when you hear them talking.
Turn this exercise into a game and have fun with it! This may be a hard exercise to do, but try to get your inner child to help you.
Now that you have both named and recorded your self talk, finish writing your positive and rational statements. Listen to your self-talk, then tell the statements to yourself, directing them to your inner gremlins.
Keep this up for 21 days. Use your journal to record your progress.
Action Steps
1. Buy a notebook if you do not already have a journal.
2. Record the self talk of your inner critic for at least 3 days.
3. Write out statements to talk back to your gremlins.
4. Take several deep breaths.
5. Say the statements to yourself for 21 days.
Ask yourself what this gremlin is trying to do? What is it telling you? Does it have the voice of someone in your life from the past or present? Sometimes, it is a parent or teacher and usually starts in childhood.
Comment below. Do you see your inner critic or inner meany? What do you think of naming it? Come up with a name (or names)