Well put. Where there’s a will there’s a way, if you’re willing to flex or bend here and there.

@ Daphne

Sayings can work just as well as metaphors if you have an emotional connection to them. Thanks for sharing. I think we have some in common. Along the lines of a saying, one of my most enabling is “what would XYZ do?”, where XYZ is any of my favorite heroes.

@ Karl

I’ll try when I feel better is a great example. I’ve limited myself so many times waiting until I felt better or got inspired or whatever. It changed my game once I realized that inspiration often follows action and that motion creates emotion.

@ Alik

Beautiful. What’s with the gentle stuff? I say go for it. Just jump out before you hit the wall. As Danika Patrick would say, “bump up against that feeling.”

@ Barb

Well thank you! It’s my little mantras that help me surprise myself. Anything from “test your results” to “get back on your horse.” I think it was Young Guns II that stuck … you have to test yourself, you’re either growing or dying, there’s no in-between.

I like the way you put it (patterns of light, patterns of shade, areas of focus) and translating to DO!

@ Laurie

Feel the fear and do it anyway is such a great way to get the essence of courage.

There is no time like the present. That reminds me how I used to twist it into why do today, what I can put off until tomorrow

I don’t have metaphors, but I do have phrases that I find useful:

Feel the fear and do it anyway. (remember that book?)
There’s no time like the present.
Who says I can’t?

My own metaphor? Hmmm… I see metaphor wherever I look. A simple life snapshot, moving or still, tells a larger truth. I write the stories. Or paint them. I look for those patterns you speak of, patterns of lights and patches of shade, areas of focus versus peripheral blur.(See what’s important to look at and allow the rest to support, as in any effective endeavor.)

More to think about now… and then translate to DO. Thanks.

LOL!

No, it is not driving yourself into a wall, but gently moving out of a parking lot and keep moving forward switching the gears. You like shift stick, right?

My most limiting is:
1. I’ll try when I feel better.

enabling:
1. A dollar save is a dollar earned.

Thanks for the fresh perspective.

I’ve never asked myself which my 3 most enabling and most limiting metaphors are. Great question. I’m thinking about this right now and won’t leave this comment until I’m done. Here goes – they’re not exactly metaphors, just sayings:

My 3 most enabling:

1) You never know until you try.
2) There must be a better way.
3) Whatever happens, I will survive.

My 3 most limiting:

1) What’s the worst case scenario?
2) I love my life just as it is.
3) It’s too much work!