Broadly speaking, metaphors are words and phrases we use to provide conceptual understanding of a situation without having to go into excruciating explanations of what happened or how you feel. Now that the anal retentive engineer in me has that out of the way, some explaining is required.
For example, we probably all use the simply metaphor or words of "I feel tired" or simply "I'm tired." The metaphor "describes" or provides meaning to the listener on both our physical and mental condition. The user doesn't have to go into the how or why or even describe the actual physical or mental condition or degree. The listener hears "I'm tired" and provides their own correct interpretation.
But there's a hidden danger in metaphors, the words we use, and many don't even realize the danger exists. We tend to forget that when we use metaphors to describe an event, or ourselves, or how we feel, there's "someone" listening who takes in the meaning of these words and acts on them without our knowledge.
Who is this sneaky bugger listening in to your conversation and acting on the metaphors? Well, to put it simply, it's YOU!
Your subconscious mind listens and acts on every metaphor and word it hears whether it comes out of your own mouth or someone else's. It would be nice if your subconscious took everything it hears with equal weighting, but unfortunately, your subconscious wants to treat your every utterance as the most profound thing it's ever heard. For example, you can tell someone "I'm ugly" and they could respond with "No, you're not." Guess which one your subconscious accepts as gospel and which one it ignores?
And the subconscious will act on a word or metaphor no matter how stupid or foolish it is. If you make an observation like "I can't do this," the subconscious takes this thought as a command and will ensure that you can't ever do "this" no matter what.
Think of what these words can do to your network marketing or multi level marketing business. When we use works like "try," "can't," "don't believe," "don't know," and a host of others, we're basically commanding our subconscious to fulfill and ensure these thoughts become reality.
Metaphors really come into play when we use them as an equation. "Life is a bowl or cherries" or "Life is a dance" are metaphors just like "Life sucks." What message does the subconscious take from the first two as opposed to the last? The first two offer some positive possibilities and promises. Cherries are sweet and juicy. Sure, there are some pits, but they can be avoided with some simple planning - don't chew on the pits. "Life is dance" suggest coordinated physical movement that looks beautiful (subjectively).
"Life sucks" is a metaphor that offers only the negative promise of repeated failure.
How about this one: "I'll try." Try? That's about as positive as "maybe." Both accept the failure outcome BEFORE success is even given a shot at succeeding.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. Tony Robbins, in "Awakening the Giant Within" and "Lessons in Mastery," goes into a lot more detail on metaphors and the vocabulary we use and provides a number of ways to change what we say. Basically, what he recommends comes down to 2 corrections:
1.Recognize the negative words and metaphors we use
2.Stop using them
It's not as simple as it sounds. Our metaphors and vocabulary become our friends over time, and we don't like to abandon our friends. But if we can replace our negative or neutral metaphors and words with outrageously positive ones, we can over time change.
Here's a simple but effective start: when asked "how are you" respond with "Excellent!" rather than the neutral "OK, I guess." And don't just utter it, FEEL the excellence! Repeat this often and you'll find the subconscious will play along.
Running a home business is hard enough; you want your subconscious helping you to the fullest extent possible. Leave the negative metaphors and words behind. Actively choose positive words and metaphors and you'll change your life and business for the better.
"Just do it!"
