The Five-Story Closet of my Brain

During my first session with Anna, she zeroed in on and brought my attention to two very peculiar things present in my life:  Wet blankets and Gremlins.  Yeah, Gremlins.  Who knew?

She asked me to spend the next week listening for and writing down all the negative voices in my head.  Always the “good student,” I did what she asked, not realizing the range and scope of the endeavor upon which I was embarking. 

I sat at my desk with my journal and listened....

In no time at all, I tuned in to the chirping cacophony of bunk in my brain.  It was as though I’d opened the door to a closet---no, a ROOM........you know what?  Make that a five story HOUSE full to the ceiling with crap.  The door practically burst open, it was so full of paraphernalia, and an avalanche occurred.  It bowled me over.  It buried me.  I could barely write fast enough to get down all the junk that came hurtling down on me.

“You don’t work hard enough.”

“You ate too much.”

“You’re not a good actress.”

“You’re not pretty enough.”

“You’re not pretty, period.”

“You wasted the day.”

“You get too nervous.”

“You’re getting fat.”

“You’ve got issues.”

“You’re selfish.”

“You’re not a good writer.”

“You’re too old to make it.”

“You never get enough done.”

“You’ll never realize your dreams.”

“You’re not emotionally strong.”

“You try to do too much and none of it well.”

“You’re a fraud.”

“You’ve wasted your life.”

“You’re living in a cloud.”

“You’re life is meaningless.”

“You’ve got nothing to contribute.”

“You’re stupid.”

“You’re selfish.”

“No one likes you.”

“No one takes you seriously.”

“This coaching thing is just a waste of money.”

WOAH!!!!!! 

After about five minutes I had to stop.  What the hell was I doing?  I thought this coaching thing would help me.  This did not feel beneficial.  I made a concerted effort everyday, without even realizing it, to quiet this tumult.  It took an extreme amount of energy on my part that I didn’t even know I was expending, but at least I made the attempt.  This summoning felt completely counter productive.  Here I was, giving power and vox to these demons, writing them down in black and white---well, purple sparkles in this particular instance---so that not only did I have to hear them, but I also had to LOOK at them as well, SEE them staring back at me, accosting me from the rose petal-pressed recycled papered pages of my journal with the metal heart on the cover that was meant for recording my sweetest memories and creative thoughts.  What the f@#k?

Anna explained that these were the Gremlins.  They came to rain on the parade.  To make a mess in the microwave.  To wreak havoc.  And ultimately to keep me from my heart’s desire.  She said they traveled the terrain of my brain bearing huge, wet, stinky wool blankets, which they would throw on any fire that burned inside me.  These dampened shrouds of doom and gremlin-gloom would quickly extinguish any light, any bliss, any excitement which bubbled up inside of me.  Wet blankets.

I started to doubt the cogency of this approach to journalling.  It seemed counter productive.  Oh, and I hated it.  It didn’t make sense.  It gave the voices more power.  Writing it down made it true, made it real, made it so.  Screw that!

So, I stopped.  I know what’s good for me and this is not it.  I cleaned up everything from the avalanche and shoved it back into the closet of my brain, and sat there in silence staring out the window contemplating Tony's teeth and the money I’d spent on this coaching endeavor.

Then a chirp from the closet door broke the silence:

“You’re a quitter and you’ll never get anywhere in life.”

I felt my jaw clench and my heart pound.  Then I picked up my purple sparkly pen, laid my hand on the doorknob of my noggin, braced myself, and opened the five-story mansion closet door.....

Anna and the Painful Truth

So, even though I liked Steve, I wasn’t devastated to find out that he would not be my personal coach.  I pictured him as this younger, cuter, sprier, tanner, Orange County version of Tony Robbins.  Maybe his teeth weren’t quite so big, but I imagined that when he smiled, a little cartoon glint would sparkled over his top front incisor like it did in a toothpaste commercial.  Over the phone he was very likable, but not totally relatable, at least not to me anyway. 

Apparently, Steve was actually the coach coordinator...the coach broker, or the coach trafficker---whatever.  He was the gatekeeper of the coaches.  And while we were still on the phone he told me he had already picked out the perfect coach for me.  He got quite excited about it.  (I imagined his cartoon tooth glint was probably sparkling to the point of being blinding with all his mustered enthusiasm for me and my new coach.)  Her name was Anna, and she was also an actress and had spent time in NYC auditioning and performing just like me.  I gave Steve my credit card number over the phone with the intent that as soon as our tax refund money arrived, I would just pay it off.  Right.  Away.

A few days later Anna and I spoke.  She was nothing like Steve or Tony.  She was very calm and grounded and real.  Her voice sounded like it came from her guts, very sure and reassuring, not like she had to poop.  And she wasn’t married to a super model.  At least, if she was, she didn’t mention it to me, and she did not have a suntan that I could hear through the phone line.  We set up a time for our first session.  Then I was sent a long questionnaire about my life and my goals, my accomplishments, etc. which I answered with great detail and sent it off to Anna for her perusal.

Now, before I go on, you’re probably wondering why I even need a life coach, aren’t you?  I seem pretty healthy and happy and together, don’t I?  I mean, I haven’t shared that much with you, but you can tell I’m pretty sane and intelligent and have my shit together, right?  And it’s true.  I do.  It’s kind of astonishing what I’ve accomplished.  But....

....I just turned 40, and I feel so painfully far away from my dreams--painfully being the operative word here.  I don’t feel like I’m living up to my potential.  I don’t feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, what I was put on this earth to do.  I feel like I spend all of my time TRYING to do what I’m supposed to do and TRYING to live my dream.  And “trying” sucks.  Trying is agonizing.  And I’m sure it’s very common to feel this way, especially in this economy, but I’ve felt this way my whole life and I want it to change.     NOW.         

And I thought this life coach thing would help.....

Awakening the Giant Within

When I was 17 something made me go out and buy a Tony Robbins book: Awaken the Giant Within.  The only reason I don’t feel like dork admitting that is because I was 17 and what kind of a jackass would judge a 17 year old?  ........Ok, I actually do feel like a dork admitting that I bought that book, but that is beside the point.... 

I read the book from cover to cover.  It had a profound effect on me.  It was such a positive voice, and I was grateful for the hope and possibility it presented.  Even at that time, though, I understood that there was a stigma surrounding Anthony Robbins.  He was viewed as sort of a dork himself, with big teeth, and admitting that you subscribed to his--- well, subscribed to him was a little like admitting that you watched that soap opera, Passions.  The one with the witches....

I kept that book on my shelf for years.  I admit that when boys came over, I would turn it around so just the white pages were visible (well, they were sort of yellowed with time) and no one could see that big, huge, tell-tale, Tony Robbins toothy grin.  Then, one day rather recently, I was trying to figure out what to do to help my husband’s daughter.  I don’t call her my step daughter.  I don’t think of her that way.  She’s more like a friend I have by default.  We probably wouldn’t choose to be friends if it weren’t for my husband, but we accept each other and have done a pretty nice job of embracing the situation.  

She has had a hard time finding the motivation to get on with her life.  She’s 21 and did not graduate from high school, is not interested in college, at the time did not have a job and was living at home with her mother and now with us.  I didn’t mind her living with us, but I did find her existence rather depressing.  She slept until noon or later, watched tv, text messaged her friends and “looked for jobs” on Craig’s list (I use the quotation marks because that was ostensibly what she was doing, but my husband and I can neither confirm nor deny her efforts to find a job and neither could she.)  

I wanted to help her without being a pain in the ass and alienating her.  My impression was that she didn’t feel very good about herself, that the reason she didn’t want to do anything was because she was afraid she would fail.  It seemed like she had been disciplined with criticism and judgment and it had taken its toll.  I went to my book shelf and pulled down all my self help books.  Well, not all of them.  I didn’t want to overwhelm her, but Tony and his teeth were at the top of the stack.  I told her it was kind of a silly book, and that the guy on the cover was obviously a dork, but that this book had really helped me focus on the positive and stop the rantings of negativity that roamed and ravaged inside my head.  I said, “Just read a little bit before you go to bed.  It’ll really help.”  I could tell this endeavor was dead in the water before we even got started.  She took the books and stuck them in the cubby beneath her bedside table and continued texting her friends.

Thinking creatively and positively, I thought, “This girl loves her iPod.  I’ll find a CD of Tony talking.  I’ve heard people swear by his tapes.  I’ll load up her iPod with inspirational speak from toothy Tony.  I googled “Tony Robbins” and found his website.  Of course he has a website.  And there I found a plethora of inspirational videos and testimonies and free mp3 downloads...well, I may have imagined the mp3s....

The other thing I found was a questionnaire to complete to apply for your very own personal coach: your own personal (possibly less toothy) version of Tony, hand selected to suit your needs.  “Wow,” I thought.  “That would be an amazing gift for my step daughter.  That would be amazing period.  I want one!”  I’d always wanted a personal coach.  What an unrealistic luxury that would be.  Having a personal coach seemed sort of like having an expensive parent, one that would cheerlead you through the downs of life, and tell you how great you are, while at the same time, omitting the fear and worry that most (my) parents have that things might not turn out the way you were wishing they would.

I felt like I do many times at Christmas when shopping for gifts for other people.  This is not the time to be shopping for myself.  I’m trying to help her.  I discussed the coaching with my husband.  He was reticent about spending so much money on yet another thing that probably wouldn’t shake his daughter out of her lethargy and apathy, and I understood his hesitation.  It was true.  We’d thrown good money after bad trying to give her the tools she wanted and needed to get up off her dead ass----I mean, get out there and face the world, and nothing had worked.  

After my husband fell asleep, I decided to fill out the online form.  That didn’t cost anything.  What could it hurt?  I did it and-- “whoosh” sent it off into the electronic super highway.

A few days later I got a call from a guy named Steve.  He asked me a lot of questions and told me about seven really inspiring stories in which Tony Robbins was a major character.  He talked to me for about an hour.  I liked Steve.  He was exactly the way I expected he would be: kind of feisty and scrappy in an appealing way, excited, positive and married to a super model.  He mentioned that a few times.  I thought it was cute.

So, I did it.  I signed myself up for a life coach.....