Much of how we behave is obviously influenced by what we think of ourselves.  Not so much in terms of our skills, likes or dislikes, but more like how we see ourselves.  As our own most critical judge, we label and categorize ourselves even as we proclaim how wrong it is to stereotype people.

“I’m not really an exercise person”, we might say, or “I have two left feet”, or in my case, “I kill all plants I come into contact with”.  Once we have labelled ourselves, it is becomes extremely difficult to change or remove that label.  That is the power of metaphors.

I wrote in an earlier post about the power of re-framing and interpretation in getting truly engaged.  Metaphors are even more powerful when we use them to visualize ourselves.

Yesterday I ran the 10k race at Dubai Marathon.  I didn’t train half as much as I should have, didn’t pay as much attention as I should have to nutrition, and didn’t really learn to breathe the right way to sustain a good pace for 10k.

But my metaphors were ready.  There, in the middle of thousands of people, I was “flying like the wind”, “eating the miles of asphalt”, and having the “can you believe the time I made it in?” conversation with my husband in my head, right from the first kilometre.

Smiling broadly, I cycled through one metaphor after the other, especially when the breathing got a little ragged, and my legs started sending distress signals.  But in my head, each breath in was an animated blue cloud racing through my limbs, supplying fresh energized oxygen.  Each step was music-video perfection, driving inexorably to certain victory.

With each distance marker, as my watch timer confirmed I was running at my target pace, the metaphors grew more graphic, more potent.  I was a sleek leopard, all defined muscle, strength and speed.  I was light as a feather, effortlessly moving through space in long, easy strides.  I was an Avatar.

Four hundred metres from the finish line, “Rise to the Occasion” by Climie Fisher came on my iPod, which I had set to shuffle. My smile broadened because I knew it was a sign.  Ok, also because I was hoping to have a better photo than last year. So it was a sleek leopard rising to the occasion that powered my last sprint, and I crossed the finish line with a 10k personal best.

Metaphors work.  Whether you are doing it consciously or not, they affect your every move.  Spend some time figuring out what are the negative metaphors that might be holding you back, and replace them with leopards, eagles, a tranquil sea, a flourishing garden or whatever Avatar works for you.

It’s an easy one to try.  It’s in your head.  Nobody needs to know.  But be prepared for the questions from those close to you who will definitely notice the new spring in your step, your new aura of energy, and your readiness to smile.