Playing Hide and Seek isn’t just for kids.
When you were young, did you ever play a game called “Hide and Seek”?
If you’re not familiar with it, “Hide and Seek” here’s a quick rundown:
It’s a game typically played outside with a bunch of friends.
One person would be the “Seeker” and the others would be the “Hiders”.
The Seeker would cover their eyes and count to a certain number while the other players would hide.
When the Seeker finished counting, she/he would uncover their eyes, find where each person was hiding and tag them “out”.
The first person caught would become the Seeker for the next round.
It was a lot of fun and for those old enough to remember, it was a great way to pass the time in the era before cable, computers and the internet.
What does playing “Hide and Seek” have to do with living an awakened life and creating your life with conscious intention?
It begins with realizing you are playing a mental version of this game in your life right now.
In this version, you are the Seeker and your lack beliefs and lack mindsets are the Hiders!
Although you may not realize the game has been going on, your beliefs & mindsets do and they have from the very beginning.
Right now, they are very good at this game.
Here’s how the mental version of this game typically plays out when you don’t realize you are playing it:
You have an amazing opportunity come up in your life and you know it would be perfect for you. Maybe it’s a fantastic job offer, finding a perfect house or saying “I do” to a marriage proposal.
You so badly want to say “yes” but for some reason, you can’t make a decision and you start to worry.
From worry you move on to self-doubt, you get anxious, etc.
You sit there paralyzed and unable to make a decision and then you start to stress even more because you can’t make a decision.
You think you must be a total loser for not being able to say yes to something that is so obviously a great move for you.
You’re disgusted with yourself.
You head over to the store and buy the biggest bag of chips you can find, along with a massive bottle of pop (or maybe wine) and head home to your couch to consume all of it in one sitting.
The next day, you still can’t make a decision and you feel gross from eating all that junk food.
You beat yourself up some more.
And so the cycle continues.
The opportunity passes you by and you feel regret.
Sound familiar?
That’s how the mental game of Hide and Seek is played when your lack beliefs and mindsets are in control of the game.
It’s time to play this mental game of Hide and Seek a new way!
It’s time for you to be the boss and in control of the game.
Your role as the amazing Seeker you are is to change that outcome illustrated above by figuring out which lack beliefs and mindsets are involved in this little game you have created for yourself.
It all starts with observing.
Just like the Seekers in the childhood game of Hide and Seek, the best Seekers don’t run here, there and everywhere trying to find the Hiders as soon as they have finished counting.
The best Seekers observe.
They stop and look around. They scan for things that look out of the norm like a leg sticking out from under the bushes. They will focus on that leg to see if they notice other things like perhaps the leaves moving as the hiding kid tries to move a bit. Once they have checked things out a little more, they head over and tag the person hiding.
Looking for hidden beliefs and mindsets in the adult version of the game is similar.
Instead of getting stressed, anxious, etc., you take an observer role and ask yourself things like “I appear worried. Why am I worrying so much about saying yes?”, etc.
As you ask yourself these questions, you may find in response that a ‘leg’ (metaphorically speaking) appears in your mind that says “I’m afraid to commit”.
But why?
Just like the leg, there is likely more hiding than a leg or, in this case, the “I’m afraid to commit” mindset.
In this case, you’ll need to dig deeper because “I’m afraid to commit” is not the root mindset that is holding you back. There is actually a root lack belief(s) that is holding you back.
To unearth the lack belief(s), you need to ask yourself “why am I afraid to commit?” If the answer you give yourself is “I don’t know”, you will need to dig even deeper because there is a reason (or many reasons) as to why you are afraid to commit.
One approach is to think back to events in your life where things didn’t work out. For example, perhaps:
Your parents divorced when you were young,
You had a best friend when you were young who moved away or decided not to be your friend anymore,
Something that may seem trivial now. For example – the day your soother or baby blanket was taken away for good.
These experiences can be very traumatic to a young person and as a result, these experiences can be converted to lack based beliefs about life. For example:
“Great relationships don’t last”
“It’s not good to take a risk”
“If you love something, it gets taken away”, etc.
Going through this process is a bit like putting together a puzzle.
You may have to dig for a bit and you may need someone to help you uncover the hidden belief/mindset(s), but you will know when you have found it.
When you unearth it, it’s like an “aha moment” because it will be so clear and just like finding the kid who is hiding, you will be able to say “tag, you’re it”.
You will recognize that your inability to commit to this opportunity had little if anything to do with the opportunity itself and everything to do with the lack beliefs and mindsets you had created a long time ago.
Now you can play the game from a different vantage point.
Now that you know how the game you created for yourself is played and can see it for the game it is, over time you will become faster at figuring out exactly which beliefs and mindsets you are playing with, where they typically like to hide and then tagging them as out.
You will see the lack beliefs and mindsets for the perceptions they are rather than facts they are trying to portray themselves as.
You will become able to make decisions from a place of empowerment rather than fear.
You will become a master at the game of Hide and Seek.
I hope you found this post helpful.
Have fun playing Hide and Seek and please feel free to reply to this email to let me know how you make out.
‘Til next time if you liked this, please social share it. Together we can help create a global mind shift.
