Why Your Brain is like The Wizard of Oz.

What’s behind the green curtain? There is good reason that this children’s story has lasted the test of time. The story of the Wizard of OZ – is an allegory of life, a journey. It is also an allegory of reality and illusion.


The four characters in this classic tale set out on their quest to find what’s important to them. For Dorothy, home, for the Scarecrow, brains, for the Tin Woodman a heart and for the Cowardly Lion courage. Unwittingly it seems, the author L. Frank Baum has struck upon what the core needs are for each of the four personality types.

Dorothy (Gold) wishes nothing but the sense of belonging that being home gives her. “No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.” Dorothy acts as the ‘accidental leader’ and caregiver for the group. For the Scarecrow (Green), with no brains, feared only a lighted match, yet he yearned to have knowledge. Many times, the scarecrow ‘thinks’ of ways he can help the team to get to the Emerald City. The Tin Woodman (Blue) longed for a heart and to love again. The Tin Woodman cries so hard when he steps on a beetle and crushes it, he rusts up all over again. The Cowardly Lion (Orange) wants to find courage, and longs for the freedom of the forest. He helps his friends by taking charge and getting them out of several scrapes along the journey on the Road of Yellow Brick.

Upon arrival at the Emerald City, the four are disappointed to learn that they must earn what they are asking of the Wizard, they must embark on another journey, where their resolve is tested again. When the quartet arrives back at the Emerald City after killing the Wicked Witch of the West, they ask the Wizard to grant them the wishes he has promised. They quickly discover that the Wizard is a ‘humbug’ – an ordinary man with no powers to grant their wishes. What he does help them to discover is that all along they had inside themselves the very things they wanted the most in life. “Who the real Oz is, when he is in his own form, no living person can tell.”

The four characters are playing out what every one of us does in our own lives. We are born with a set of characteristics that drive our behaviour. Our upbringing and environment help shape us and make us the unique beings we are. Yet, beneath the surface, the core needs and desires we have - and our hard wired mental functions shape every decision and action we take.

Think of your brain as an iceberg – at the tip is our conscious mind – what constitutes our reality, under the surface, is the unconscious – what drives our behaviour. All thoughts happen in the blink of an eye – the brain takes in information- the unconscious decides what is real and gives the message to the conscious mind. The conscious mind believes it has made the decision, this becomes our reality. Our thoughts are filtered through the patterns and beliefs we hold, hard wired and learned throughout our lives. Our brain is like the Wizard of Oz – we see the illusion, we command the conscious brain to do the same things over and over again. This is why we ask ourselves the question – why does this always happen to me?

“Oz himself is the great Wizard... more powerful than all the rest of us together.” Once the green curtain is pulled aside, and we can see the machinations of the ‘Wizard’ – we discover that all that we thought we wanted, we already had, the answers are within. All we thought was real – just an illusion. The magic of the message in the Wizard of Oz is that we have the power to re-wire our brains; we have power over the unconscious. The Wizard shows the characters that they can believe whatever they want and it will become real. “Oz left to himself, smiled to think of his success in giving the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman and the Lion exactly what they thought they wanted.”

The tale of course has a happy ending with all four characters finding what they sought. They each had to embark upon a journey, a journey of learning – they had to challenge the beliefs and thoughts they carried along with them. Once the illusion was stripped away, each was able to see clearly how to achieve what they truly desired.

Will you draw back the green curtain?


Will you challenge your long held beliefs?

discoveryworkscoaching.com
ireneanderson.com

Is Your Cheese Old?

The parable in the little book "Who Moved My Cheese"  is all about how we react to change - or don't react to it - and what the consequences can be.

"Old Beliefs Do Not Lead You to New Cheese"

Does everything you do turn out the way you planned? Not likely... You can spend countless hours and money marketing and networking and maybe things are not percolating along the way you want. Ask yourself - am I making the same assumptions, am I doing the same things? or - am I sourcing out new cheese?

"Having Cheese Makes You Happy"

Of course it does - we all want success, we deserve it right? We worked hard! What happens when the cheese is gone? We ask - how did that happen? It's not fair! We tend to blame.

"The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Find New Cheese."

Move on...that's right - get on with the adventure - step out of your comfort zone. When I try a new service or workshop out - sometimes it doesn't fly - so, I go back - turn it on its head and re-think. Usually, I end up on a completely different path from the one I intended, but that's OK - keep your eyes and ears open for new adventures, partnerships and opportunities. It will all work out.

"Move With The Cheese And Enjoy It!"

Sniff - out the situation and see change coming.
Scurry - get into and stay in action immediately.
Hem - don't be Hem - staying where you are will not work.
Haw - Haw did not believe in himself and followed Hem. Step out of your fear - be bold.

I hope this little parable will help you to Sniff and Scurry your way to success.

discoveryworkscoaching.com
ireneanderson.com

Hitting The Wall

I  just listened to a podcast about transition and 'Hitting the Wall' - wow in that less than 2 minute blurb, a million thoughts started to go through my head. On another call last night my coach said “transition is ubiquitous’ – in other words life is always throwing stuff at us that pushes us into transition - nothing is static or same especially in these challenging times. I don’t know about you, but almost every friend or acquaintance I have has been touched by layoffs, downsizing, bankruptcy or just plain bad bosses, they now find themselves in middle age having to look for alternate employment - and in many cases settle for what we used to call McJobs.

A friend shared with me last night the plight of a group of long term employees who just heard that they have lost their jobs. Many have worked at this firm for over 25 years- that’s a lifetime with friends who have become family – that’s hard to give up, what a crushing blow. Many were escorted out of the building by security guards – how humiliating! I know how heartbroken they felt. I myself remember a similar closure at the same company where one of my team - a woman with over 25 years at this company left with her belongings in a green garbage bag. I will never forget that image; I will never forget the tears and the heartbreak.

What does this do for your confidence? Many will go through the normal stages of grief:

Denial – This didn’t happen - I can’t believe it!
Anger - It’s not fair – why me?
Bargaining – What if I can change this? Get my job back?
Depression – There may be lots of time on the couch in front of the TV
Acceptance – This is the stage where you finally realize that you cannot change the situation and this is where you will find the momentum to move on.

Many people ‘Hit the wall’ and never get back up. Over our many years of experience we collect so much training and wisdom, only to end up being marginalized or thought of as ‘past our Sell by Date’. What a shame, that our society sees wisdom and experience as ‘past it’. I myself have hit that wall on many occasions, and even now – hit the wall occasionally. So how do you manage to get up – brush yourself off and keep going?

The first step is taking back your confidence, learning and knowing that you are worthy and that you have an amazing gift to give the world. Every human being has this gift inside. The good news is that there is a road back – there is help along the way. The trick is to keep believing in yourself, even if you can only do it for one day a week, after a while, you will find yourself doing it more often. For me, coaching does it for me, whether it is one on one or in a group setting – talking things through with someone really helps.

So, what’s your wall?

- Lost your job?
- Stuck for a new idea?
- Business in a slump?
- In trouble at work?
- Single Mom struggling with bills?
- Stay at home mom feeling isolated?

Inside this gift of TRANSITION, there is an opportunity just waiting to be uncovered. It is a new beginning waiting to be unwrapped, with a voyage of adventure and challenge on the other side.

Accept your gift – it’s yours for the taking!