Bad Luck Bird 🦉

I’m rereading a book by Alexandra Fuller, telling of her life growing up in Africa.  Not to give too much away, Alexandra writes of an adopted Eagle Owl living in Zambia. The superstition around these mysterious creatures is profound.  Profound enough that nobody will help feed the ailing orphan owl except their cook, who, by his account, has had enough bad luck to last a lifetime and is convinced that “this bird” can not give him any more bad luck.

So I considered that ‘bad luck birds’ in my own life.  The superstitions or beliefs (we can debate which is stronger later) that have become limiting beliefs, a narrative that has evolved to convince us in such a meaningful way that we can’t begin to unlearn this?  These themes of limitations are realities for so many of us, laced with our toxicity, slowing bleeding our self-esteem and eroding our internal narrative.  Scary but true.  It’s often only the extent that might vary.  I often watch people plumbing this bad luck bird, fluffing up its feather and showing it off to people – reiterating this disbelieve and vocalising the internal superstitions.  These appear guised as cheerful chirps, quick quirks and ultimately statements we believe true of ourselves and announcing these to the world as a personal affirmation that these are true.

BS!  I hear you!  But guide your mind reset your self-awareness, and take note of the words your choose and narration you offer your story.  In sad reality, I do this too.  Why?  So many of my personal themes and ledger inputs crop in here.  The things I can never do or am particularly bad at are the shortcomings I offer and the limiting beliefs that stalk us – sabotaging our strategy and giving our goals a course correction to nowhere.

My advice, make friends with your self-saboteur – identify the words you choose and reframe these thoughts actively as your own process within your own self-awareness.  Change the superstitions you hold about yourself; this misconception might need a tweak or a kick in the pants! Guided conversation and structure coaching will always be beneficial – however you find your modality and quieten this squark – it may be time to hasten this Dodo’s demise and find a new metaphor for your new internal narrative.