I’m not done talking about Threshold Guardians because they so very often mess us up. We mistake them for the truth and we listen to them and then we don’t follow our dreams. I’ve spent years talking with women about what their Threshold Guardian voices say and isn’t it so interesting that they say the same things! Different heads, same blah, blah, blah!  

It’s as though there’s only one script. 

What Will Your Threshold Guardian Say?

In my course, I ask women to envision what they most want to do going forward, their dream – then to write down the Threshold Guardians’ warnings. Take a listen to the inner voices of these women as they contemplate responding to a Call:

• I will feel like a failure, a loser and foolish.
• My expectations are too high.
• I will be alone.
• I'm not strong enough.
• I will fail.
• What if my voice freezes?
• What if my writing is not good?
• No one’s buying in this market.
• I’m not good enough at selling.
• I’m computer challenged. 
• Nothing will come of it.
• It’s a big commitment of my time.
• It will be too difficult.
• It may be a waste of time and I should be doing more productive things.
• I don’t have enough money.
• I don’t know how.
• What if my reputation is shot?
• I am not creative.
• I can’t lose the weight I want to lose.

I’ll bet some of those thoughts are as familiar to you as they are to me. All too familiar!

What Do YOU Say About Yourself?

I ask them to first write the inner-critic-speak and then I’d ask them to come up with their own affirmations to turn the negatives around. Here are some of them.  

• What I want is possible.
• I have enough.  I am enough.
• I'm reflecting the Divine Source.
• I have plenty that is unique and special to share.
• I will not have to give up my dream.
• I'll succeed, I will not fail.
• I have what it takes.
• I'm unique.  People who know me, admire me.
• I deserve better.
• I am connected to the Earth, the Sky, the Stars, the Wind and the trees – of course I am creative!
• I'm focused and know what to do first to start any project.
• I am allowed and encouraged to try new things.  I spread my wings!
• If I believe enough and work hard enough I can succeed at anything.  
• I don’t give up.  I can do it!
• I'm a writer.
• I can count on my Spirit to guide me. 

The Heroine Mindset

I also share the following list which shows you the difference in the “Heroine Mindset”.  If you look at your life and what happens to you through the framework of the journey, then your perceptions and reactions are different than if you were to look at things as disconnected and not part of the larger life view that we get with the Heroine’s Journey framework.  See the difference in reactions, below. 

First the negative perception of a happening, then the heroine view:

How To Stop Listening To Your Threshold Guardian

Maybe you’re contemplating a call to a new adventure. Are you hearing the Threshold Guardian voices?  Write down their warnings – every last one. (It helps to get them out on the page.)  Then, write your affirmation.  Tell them what’s really true for you.  You know.  They don’t.  They are just reading off of an old script.  

In the very fun animated movie, The Croods, the dad is living from an old script…he believes that no one should leave the safety of the cave!  That’s what he was taught.  But times change and the world is in transition and the family needs to get out into the world in order to survive.  He keeps resisting and warning against change (refusing the call to go out on the savanna) until he is forced by circumstances to see it differently.

Threshold Guardians Are Common

We can find lots of examples in our movies and literature of Threshold Guardians. Ours tend to be inner critics instead of the external guardians in stories and movies. Remember that crazy Cantina on Mos Eisley in Star Wars? All those totally weird creatures in there are Threshold Guardians warning Luke and Obi Wan what’s in store if they pursue their adventure of finding Princess Leia.  The Trolls that Bilbo encounters in The Hobbit once he joins Gandalf and the dwarves on their adventure are great examples of Threshold Guardians. They like nothing better than hobbits roasted over a small fire!

In real life our Threshold Guardian can be just as scary – and be major roadblocks.

My son proved to be a significant Threshold Guardian when I was a single mom and started dating again. He wasn’t a subtle one, either. I remember the nice dinner a potential suitor brought to our apartment. Our nice evening deteriorated significantly when my son began breaking lightbulbs in his bedroom to show his displeasure. His warning was crystal clear, I will not support you on this particular adventure, mom!! And of course he was also wanting me to be OK, safe and not make a bad choice! Luckily, when my husband-to-be finally showed up, there was no lightbulb breaking!

The Heroine Continues!

This Joseph Campbell quote is reassuring to me: “The adventure is always and everywhere a passage beyond the veil of the known into the unknown; the powers that watch at the boundary are dangerous; to deal with them is risky, yet for anyone with competence and courage the danger fades.”

The Heroine continues on…she persists!