Childhood Giants

The simplest things leave scars that we carry with us into adulthood. I call them “childhood giants.” These emerge from emotional events that shape our perceptions. I spent the majority of my life fighting three of these beasts: never good enough, abandoned, and carrying blame.

I didn’t know how to confront myself and face the childhood giants I was unaware of. I’d never learned to articulate what was important to me.

So where did I begin? I started by taking notice.

Once I became more in tune with my emotions—the things that upset me, made me happy or sad, anxious or peaceful—then I would identify the giant behind that feeling.

We can’t deal with the giants in our lives without discovering who they are and where they came from.

Let’s practice the art of noticing. Ask yourself questions like,

“Why did that bother me?”

“Where’d that narrative in my head come from?”

“How come that stole my peace?”

Take note when an emotion won’t leave. Dig in and dig deep. You might not know immediately, you might not know for days. Just keep searching.

Don’t let the sun go down today without understanding yourself more fully. Then you will begin identifying your giants.

Slaying Giants will be our next step.

I’d love to hear what you are discovering.