The metaphor, the image, the story. Funny how you can philosophize all day long, analyze an issue until you’ve taken it down to the bare bones, and then still be no closer to wisdom, no closer to acting more wisely. But then call on a metaphor, and everything opens. “I see you as a rock in the middle of a river.” “This is like the closing hours of a bloody battle.” “Just be the ball, Danny.”
What is it about a metaphor that makes it such a powerful tool in coaching and personal growth? I think part of it is that there is a rich and durable truth to an appropriate image that doesn’t easily succumb to second-guessing and over-analysis. It’s hard to talk yourself out of the rock in the stream. But also, an image is clear and simple enough for the more primitive parts of our mind to get ahold of it. And it’s so often these undercover parts of our minds that are evading the influence of our high-minded analysis and philosophy and talk talk talk.
Compare “I think my colleague is acting out his oedipal instincts on this project and the best response is to assert my own desires at this point,” to “He’s a dog with a bone and it’s not his bone.”
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