{"id":6099,"date":"2023-05-03T02:11:45","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T02:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingforwardcoaching.com\/?p=6099"},"modified":"2024-02-15T13:18:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T13:18:55","slug":"the-calamity-trap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingforwardcoaching.com\/the-calamity-trap\/","title":{"rendered":"The Calamity Trap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Life Coaching Tip: I am closing out the series on the sneaky traps you might find yourself caught in when attempting to uplevel your life with one of the most menacing of all\u2014the \u201cCalamity Trap.” This brilliant method of self-sabotage is so cunning that you likely have not realized it\u2019s coming from your own primal brain\u2014instead interpreting it as a \u201csign\u201d to change course. . . Until now!  Awareness is always the first step towards growth and change. If I\u2019ve sparked your interest, then please, read on. . ..<\/em>
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Your primal brain (aka \u201cego\u201d or \u201csubconscious mind\u201d) is extremely committed to keeping you safely tucked inside your comfort zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is fear based and reactive. It doesn\u2019t give one \u201cf\u201d if you feel alive\u2014<\/em>as in flourishing, happy, and fulfilled. Its only goal is only to keep you alive\u2014<\/em>as in not dead.

Yep, your primal brain is a total buzz kill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It operates according to the long-held limiting beliefs that you acquired as a young child and are likely unaware of because you’ve stored them deep inside your subconscious mind.

Typically, these limiting beliefs sound something like this . . ..

I\u2019m not good enough:

* I\u2019m not good enough to be, do, or have \u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad_____________.<\/em>

* I\u2019m not ________ (smart, qualified, talented, organized, young, old, experienced, educated, capable, strong, pretty, outgoing, confident . . .) enough.

* There\u2019s something wrong with me. I don\u2019t have the ______ (skills, strengths, intelligence, talents) that other people seem to have.<\/em>

* I\u2019m a hot mess!<\/em>

OR – I am not worthy of love, respect, and attention:

* I shouldn\u2019t bother anyone with my thoughts, opinions, or ideas.<\/em>

* I need to hold back, or I\u2019ll make my  ________ <\/em>(parents, siblings, partner, work colleagues. . .) feel bad about themselves.<\/em>

* I don\u2019t deserve __________. (success, wealth, love, happiness, fame, fulfillment . . . )<\/em>

* It\u2019s selfish (or greedy) to put my needs and desires ahead of my family’s and do what makes me happy.<\/em>

These false beliefs are your primal brain’s marching orders, and it will compel you (by whatever means necessary) to live within these narratives.

Your well-intentioned primal brain interprets any life change, including achieving your goals, as unsafe. So, it will lure you into one or more of the traps mentioned in this series to block transformation in such an insidious way that you likely won\u2019t even know what\u2019s happening\u2014until now!

Jen Sincero, author of \u201cYou are a Badass\u201d (and my pretend BFF), equates the primal brain to an overprotective Italian mother who has good intentions, but she will beat you over the head with her rolling pin should you venture outside into the scary unknown. It\u2019s her job to keep you inside the familiar, risk-free zone of your present reality, and she will do whatever it takes to stop you from moving forward.

This is the visual I’d like for you to imagine when you think of the \u201cCalamity Trap:\u201d The overprotective Italian mother of your primal brain creating chaos in your path as she attempts to keep everything as is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Punishment, prevention, and protection are her jam.

And once she gets all hyped up, it can feel like the Universe is conspiring against you!

These are some of the things that have happened to me during my first few Shine On program launches: technology issues (so many technology issues!!!) , car problems, washing machine malfunction, a fall into the dog pen that made my face look like I lost a prize fight, the flu, and more.

And, of course, my clients land themselves in the \u201cCalamity Trap,\u201d too. I have observed this so many times! The moment they decide to up-level their current reality, their primal brain rushes in and causes all kinds of trouble!

Here are just a few things that have happened to my clients over the years while in hot pursuit of their dreams\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n