The "Cringe" Factor: Word association (Bonus Ep.)

Liz Buggy: When we associate words and give them a different meaning, I've always struggled with my self-confidence, my self-worth and self-belief. I always felt like I never belonged, that I rarely fitted in and often would feel like a stranger in my own skin. I lost myself. I lost myself trying to fit in. I shape shifted, becoming that version others wanted me to be. I always stayed in the background and I lost more of myself. It wasn't until I started working with a life coach that I realized that I had always struggled with compliments and positive feedback. I never knew the reason why. It wasn't until I realized I had associated proud with betrayal and gradually over time I've worked to reframe it. It used to make me cringe, full body cringe and more recently another word surfaced. that brought with it the same sort of cringe. That word was inspirational. Again, it was associated to betrayal. Knowing these word associations has enabled me to do the work, to reframe the implied meanings. It takes time, but the cringe fades. And I can become more accepting of these words when they are used. What words make you cringe? I invite you to sit with your thoughts, your words, feel where they sit in the body. Feel the emotions attached, then learn to reframe them. This may take time depending upon how deeply rooted they are. And when you're ready, let the perceived meaning go. Let's shift our perception and invite change into how we view ourselves, the people around us and the world. Nothing changes if you don't change. So I invite you to sit with these thoughts.