Are you camping out in your own life?

Imagine you’re inside a sleeping bag in a one-person tent. You’re all zipped up and cosy, protected against the elements. Only what you don’t realise is that you are not outside at all. You are camping out in the small upstairs bedroom of a large detached house.

You do not know you are in a house. You’re so wrapped up in your little bubble that you’ve never even unzipped your tent. If you were to do so, you would realise that this house had five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a big living room and lounge and a large, warm kitchen full of family and friends.

I’ve conjured up this little scenario as a metaphor to illustrate how we often camp out in our own lives. We occupy a safe little corner of ourselves, not realising we are capable of so much more. We wrap ourselves in our psychological sleeping bags, snug as a bug in a rug but staying firmly in our comfort zone.

There would be so much more potential for a bigger life out there in the house but we just don’t see it. We put up with sabotaging thoughts, limiting beliefs, a rampaging inner critic and a whole range of self-harming judgments. We don’t look after ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually. We keep ourselves small so that no one can see us. We feel safe but we’re not really living at all.

So how do we move off the camp site and into the five-bedroom house? First we have to believe we deserve it. Then we have to master those sabotaging thoughts and tackle the undermining beliefs. It would also help to chuck away the tinned camp food and properly nourish ourselves.

Then we need to explore those different rooms, get a feel for how we might use them, what we want to fill them with. Imagine the possibilities. Dream a little. Throw around some colour. Expand to fill the space. Hell, we might even consider a housewarming party.

I could stretch this metaphor to its limit but you get the picture. There is so much more to you than a sleeping bag in a tent. Much more. More than you can possibly imagine. Maybe even a palace. And your life is waiting for you to move in.