One of the biggest impediments that comes between me and my personal power is the Voice of Worry.  This Voice of Worry is a narrator in my head that likes to tell me (often at 3 am) that things can't possibly come to a good conclusion ... and that I'd better watch out because "something dreadful this way comes." 

I drew this picture
of the voice of worry
just to get it out of my system:

The name I give this worry-voice is "Your Inner Chicken Little":  you can often find her pecking away at your brain, catastrophizing, hypervigilantisizing (that isn't a word, is it?), nit-picking - making you quite cuckoo.

There she goes again: playing havoc with your sense of vitality, connection and creativity;  putting a crimp in your mojomentum;  causing your power to plummet.

It's taken me a good portion of my adult life learning to learn to cope with my personal Chicken Little, and to learn how to help my clients and students deal with their Chicken Littles.

    _____________________________

     Whoops.
    The sky is falling!
    _____________________________

Just to refresh your memory, here's the Chicken Little story, in brief:

Once upon a time Ms Chicken Little, while strolling through the woods, was struck by a falling acorn. Since Ms Little hadn't seen what hit her, and since she was a catastrophizer of the first order, she assumed that the sky was falling, and that a portion of it had landed right on her head.

"Oy gevolt -- the sky is falling!"  CL wailed, and she shook so hard that half of her feathers fell on the ground.

Fearing for the entire kingdom, she figured she'd better warn the king about the impending doom, and so, she set off down the road to find him.

On her way, she met some buddies: Henny Penny, who was looking for worms, Cocky Locky who was looking for seeds, Goosey Loosey who was looking for berries, and Turkey Lurkey who was looking for bugs.

Because Chicken Little's terror was so palpable, she easily convinced each of her pals that the world really was coming to an end, and that they simply must join with her to find the king and let him know about the terrible situation with the sky.

How easy it was for CL to convince everyone that the sky had fallen on her head! How easy it was for the wolf to take advantage of their worry-weakened, mojotivity-depleted state!

_______________________________________

---

</-->

Automatically and without thinking, the Inner Chicken Little finds things to worry about in every occurrence and in every sentence.  What's more, she believes in her worries, and she believes that you and I and everybody else should believe in them too. In fact, if we don't agree with her, if we don't worry enough (that is, as much as she does) she gets very upset. Our inadequate worrying makes her feel as if she isn't being taken seriously ... or as if we are living in denial ... and that makes her even more worried ... and very, very frustrated.

________________________________

Are we born with inner Chicken Littles? 
Is Chicken Little a bird of nature or a bird of nurture?  Probably, both.  (In my case, I inherited both the genes and the environment.)

---

</-->

The most important tool you can have in your Mojotivity Worry-Busting Toolkit is your ability to become aware that Chicken Little is on the premises.  She comes in several guises and disguises and it's important for you to be able to see behind her masks, and NOT be fooled into thinking either that she is YOU, or, that she is the VOICE OF REASON.

The following are a few of Chicken Little's favorite personas.  There are others.  See if you can identify some of your own:

The Catastrophizer:

This is the true Chicken Little, scaring the bejeezus out of you, describing in detail exactly how the sky is gonna fall.

The Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda:

This is a reverse-time worry wonka. One who goes back into the past to tell you how you should have handled past catastrophes.

The Night Stalker:

This Chicken Little wakes you up at 2 or 3 in the morning, eager to share her frightening fantasies.

The Nay Sayer:

She wants to make sure you understand why your fondest dreams are too good to be true, why your best laid plans can't possibly work.

The Hypochondriac:

This worrier either thinks you're already too sick to do what needs to be done, or that doing what needs to be done will make you sick.

The Phobic:

A Scaredy Cat sort of Chicken Little, afraid of new things, afraid to take risks, afraid of her shadow.

The Self Esteem Basher:

This Chicken Little is afraid that the sky will fall and cause other people to think badly of you. What will the neighbors think? Will I look fat?   Will I sound stupid?

---

</-->

Chicken Little is your anxiety gremlin ... the worry wonka who steals your peace of mind, bashes your self confidence and creates a fertile soil for addiction, procrastination and overwhelm.
She is a part of you, but with practice, you can observe her shtick, and keep her apart from you as well.

     Mend Your Mojotivity:
    How to Put a Lid
    on Chicken Little
     ____________________________

Before we talk about putting Chicken Little in her place, let's talk first about "her place."  (Yes, Virginia, she has a place.)

Her place is ..

• to keep you safe,
• to keep you from making a big mistake,
• to troubleshoot,
• to keep you on your toes.

It's her job to survey the environment and let you know what pitfalls you might be about to tumble into. It is her job to remind you to take your umbrella, to pay the bills on time, to visit the dentist regularly. It is her job to let you know when you are in over your head and need to call for help.

On the other hand, it is absolutely NOT Chicken Little's place ...

• to freak you out,
  
  
• to paralyze you,
  
  
• to talk you out of your dreams,
  
  
• to lower your self-esteem.
  
  

To keep Chicken Little in her place, to tame her, and to keep her from taking over your entire personality ...  here are some things you can begin to do:

Observe:

• Notice the worrying voice,
• give it a name,
• draw a picture of it,
• write a paragraph about it,
• do the dance of Chicken Little.

Create a Boundary:

• Remind yourself that your Chicken Little
• is just a voice, an opinion. She is not you.
• You are separate from her.

Inquire:

• Use the Four Questions from The Work
• of Byron Katie.  Hear what Chicken Little
• is saying, and then ask:
• 
  
• 1.  Is it true?
  
  
• 2.  Can I be absolutely sure this is true?
  
  
• 3.  How do I feel when I believe this is true?
  
  
• 4.  How would I feel if I let go of this belief?
• 
  
• 
  
• Example:
• 
  
• Statement: The sky is falling.
• 
  
• Is This true?  Well, it could be falling.
• Something did fall, after all, and it might
• have been the sky.
• 
  
• Can I be absolutely sure this is true?
• Well, no. I didn't actually see
• what fell. The only things I really
• saw were a few acorns on the ground.
• 
  
• How do I feel when I believe that
• it's true that the sky is falling?
• Terrified. When I think the sky is falling
• I feel vulnerable, like I might get hurt,
• or even die. Or one of my loved ones
• might die. Or my house might be
• destroyed. Or the world might end.
• 
  
• How would I feel if I let go of this
• idea that the sky is falling?
• Relieved. Very relieved. Ready to
• get on with my day. Ready to go forth
• and conquer.
• 
  

      ___________________________

      Mojotivity Clue:
      ___________________________

Chicken Little's input often comes up as a second thought - a rebuttal to a very lovely first thought. So, when you're doing your investigation into your own Chicken Little, look for second thoughts.

• Example:
• 
  
•    First Thought:  I think I'll take a walk.
• 
  
•    Second Thought:  You might get tired.
•                                 (Or lost. Or lonely.)

Awareness is the first line of defense against the mojotivity-disrupter called Chicken Little. Quite often, awareness itself will tame Chicken Little and put her in her appropriate place.

But, when awareness isn't enough, energy techniques, which take the charge out of negative thoughts, can be incredibly helpful. Energy techniques can depotentiate even the most worrisome of Chicken Little's negative ideas.

_____________________

"Joan's work is like having an eraser that simply removes problems.

Once you work on a problem you can easily forget that it was a problem, because it's completely gone!"

Cathy Hedgecock,
journalist