Photo courtesy of Jian Xhin/StockSnap

I have a talent for seeing connections.

I’ll hear or read something and come up with a way that idea could work for another subject also. Or I might tweak it a bit to have it serve another purpose.

I had borrowed a library audio book called Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely with the intent of discerning whether it might help a friend of mine who’s going through a rough time.

Author Lysa TerKeurst makes an excellent point about how we can turn a bad experience (real or perceived) into something that negatively affects the rest of our life.

Using the alliterative L sequence of Line, Label, Lie, Liability, she explains how it transpires.

Here is my example that connects to the common fear of public speaking.

Line ~~ You may have given an exceptionally bad performance in an oral book report in junior high. The other kids laughed at you; distracted, you lost your place. You stuttered over some words; you finally froze up, and slunk back to your seat. Someone spoke out loud, “Wow, that was the stupidest report I’ve ever heard!”

Label ~~ “I’m a terrible public speaker.” We incorporate this self-imposed label into our core.

Lie ~~ We tell ourselves, “I will never conquer my fear of public speaking. There’s no point in trying it again because I’d just make a fool of myself.”

Liability ~~ At college we plan our courses to avoid any that require oral presentations. We choose a “safe” career that lets us off the hook for talking before groups. We get sick to our stomachs at meetings, fearful that we’ll be asked to “say a few words” about something. We hold back from seeking a promotion that might push us into a speaking role.

We box ourselves into a limiting of our potential. It’s hard to figure a way out.

So if you’re struggling with some difficulty or fear that is limiting your response to life, try seeing how the problem fits within the four Ls.

Sometimes just the naming, the identification of WHY we irrationally feel a certain way, is the first step to freeing ourselves from the burden.