Trapped in your own prison of cognitive rationalisation?

Thinking too hard and feeling trapped in a prison of your own over-thinking?

Wheree does your mind go to as you see this image?

I was in a coaching conversation recently, supporting a client to explore their learning edges through eliciting developmental metaphors, and this metaphor came tumbling out:

“I’ve been thinking too hard about improving performance, and just feel numb…it feels like I’m in a cul-de-sac, trapped in my own prison of cognitive rationalising.”

As we deepened into this theme, they breathed a sigh of relief, which seemed to signal a clear shift into a more regulated, grounded state, from where some new insights and options emerged that were worth experimenting with.