Your Shadow is a another word for part of your unconscious. That aspect of you that holds all of your past experiences, learned behaviour, limiting beliefs and all the things you find too difficult to accept about yourself, including your potential.
‘Oh God’, I hear you cry, ‘why on earth would I want to go within to look at that?’
Well, as your Shadow governs 90% of your behaviour it is better to have some idea of what is going on in there, unconsciously directing you, wouldn’t you say?
Check out my blog on Taming Your Shadow here.
Why would I want to rake over old coals and re-live past experiences? Sounds like that’s an emotional recipe for disaster.’
hear you, but looking within at your Shadow isn’t about re-living any drama, crisis or trauma. It is about observing yourself and unlocking different parts of you that pop up and trigger unhelpful behavior.
‘OK, what do you mean unhelpful behaviour?’
AH… have I got your attention, shifting unhelpful behaviour might be useful. And, it is.
Carl G. Jung first theorised that we all have four survival archetypes, these are all held in your Shadow.
- The Victim
- The Self Saboteur
- The Prostitute
- The Inner Child
Can you think of a time in your life when you felt victim to a situation?
I know I have. Many times in my early life, I allowed others to treat me unkindly. I would take it, then be resentful and place blame for how I felt fully on the shoulders of others. Ultimately, I allowed this behavior, as I unconsciously didn’t like myself much and was unkind to myself too. It had nothing to do with other people, and all to do with my inner world. This was extremely unhelpful ‘victim’ behavior. It left me trapped for years, pleasing others for fear that they wouldn’t like me. Thankfully, I unraveled this, found out where it began and gave myself permission to be me, releasing myself from victim energy.
Have you ever given too much of yourself and then felt resentful afterwards?
This is another example of your Shadow at play, or more to the point the prostitute coming through. If you look outside of yourself for validation, needing to prove you have worth but ultimately don’t value your time or your Self enough to receive anything in return.
Each of us will have different behaviours, emotions and beliefs that affect how we relate to others.
These Shadow aspects are unique to us all, and mark our level of confidence and inhibit our growth as individuals, therefore stops us from being the best we can be. Our Shadow hides our potential, that part of us yet to shine through. The more Shadow work you do the more you will understand what holds you back and the easier it will be to stand in your confident authentic Self and bring your unique passion out into the World.
Click here for more tips on how to be the best version best version of you that you can be.
After all, you are what drives your business forward, so have a look within. If you see lots of hidden clutter in your inner world, it may be time to have a clear out, clearing space so that you can step into your potential more fully and make the impact that you desire.
If this is making you think, send me a message and lets chat about how to do this easily and effectively.
