On Seinfeld, George Costanza was lamenting his inability to make a right decision. Kramer told him he should listen to “the little man inside you.” George replied, “My little man is an idiot!”
Everybody has a little man inside of them. He is a voice of counsel, of advice.
A great deal of trust seems to be put in him today. I hear many people talk about “following your heart” by “listening to your inner voice.” Maybe that’ll get you somewhere. Maybe it’ll get you in trouble.
Remember this as you try to get unstuck: the little man inside of you, the inner voice, if you will, may not always give you good counsel.
Most of the time, this voice operates quietly in the background, influencing choices and lobbying for its preferred course of action or inaction. Be aware that whenever people take the initiative to change their lives, an alarm sounds and the Saboteur will awaken. Expect it. (Co-active Coaching, Whitworth, et.al., 140)
Your Saboteur is the Devil on your shoulder. If it helps you recognize when you’re being undermined, remember the cartoons you used to watch when the devil appeared at the hero’s shoulder to tempt him or her. Whatever works. But learn to recognize what voice sounds like. Sometimes the lines go like this:
- You aren’t working hard enough
- You should be further along than you are
- You don’t test well
- You’re not smart enough
- You’re too old
- You’re too young
And on and on.
Remember that while pride may push you into a dangerous place, fear intimidates you into staying stuck right where you are. Learn to recognize the voice of the Saboteur who wants to keep you right where you are.
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2 comments
Ron Walters
January 31, 2012 at 5:33 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Brett,
Wanted to drop you a line to let you know how much i am enjoying this series. I am an Oklahoma Baptist (member-First Baptist of Moore) and a local Builder/Developer. I just returned from a week in Zambia where I enjoyed also reading (in small letters on my Blackberry) daily this series.
I had a question though. When i saw you wrote the Sunday School quarterlies (or whatever were calling them these days) for the Association I was excited. I thought I know this guy and he’s got skills. However as I read a few of them, I was kinda let down. I always assumed those guys that wrote them were the old classic fudi-duti baptist that were boring.
Not to sound critical, but yours seemed to follow the same theme and format.
Is somebody up there instructing this. If needed please pass this to the powers at be.
Next time tell them to let “your dog’s loose”. Lets raise the bar!
No body ever passes the “lead horse” and as far as i am concerned you is one a them.
Respectfully, Ron W. Walters-OKC
Brett
January 31, 2012 at 9:34 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Thanks Ron. I appreciate your encouraging words. The difference between the writing on my blog and the writing I do for LifeWay is the difference running your own business and working for someone else. They both have their pros and cons. Writing SS materials follows a very prescribed process and there is limited room to “improvise”, if you will. I enjoy doing both and I’ll be reflecting on your observations because I think they can help me become a better communicator for the sake of the kingdom and the gospel. I appreciate you, brother.