Listen Between the Lines
Tune in to the meaning behind meta-metaphors
Consider what types of metaphors are used in your life and for which areas?
For example, common ones for work or business are - war, violence and sports.
“We’re fighting for resources around here so we can battle it out and dominate the market.”
“We’re going to beat the competition and win the deal.”
Each person is different and can have a mix of themes and meta-metaphors across the different areas of their lives. Home, Family, Love, Work, etc..
If you listen to yourself, and those around you, what meta-metaphors do you hear?
Here’s a few I brainstormed:
War & Fighting - “We’re battling through it”, “Attacking the problem”, “Defending against”, “holding our ground”, “work is killing me”, “divide and conquer”
Sports & games - “Beating the competition”, “Playing to win”, “Winner takes all”, “Move the ball down the field”, “keeping score”, “team player”, “have a game plan”, “head in the game”, “go on offense”, “defend our lead”, and both sides of “it’s my turn” - tit for tat, or sharing responsibility
Exploration, Travel and Adventure - “We’re on this journey”, “off the beaten path”, “climbing the ladder”, “I’m not following”, “book a room”, “jump to the top”, “the pinnacle of…”
Nature, outdoors and gardening - “Growing our user base”, “digging in”, “going with the flow”, “rooted in” , “nourish”, “tidal wave of information”, “plow through this paperwork”, “branching out”, “chilly reception”, “fruits of my labor”
Prison & Torture - “Nothing I can do, my hands are tied”, “guarding against”, “I feel stuck”, “I’m trapped”, “I’m drowning in work”, “I’m blocked”
Science & Discovery- “uncover the truth”, “test some ideas and experiment”, “collect the data”, “move the needle”, “collaborate with…”, “What did we learn?”
Art & Creation - “craft a strategy”, “paint a picture”, “layout a plan”, “the highlight of the presentation”
Food & Cooking - “percolate an idea”, “cook up a plan”, “slice the data”, “trim the fat”, “let it bake for a while”, “a crummy first draft”
What if a friend told you, “Work is busy, but I’m digging in, and growing so much.” or “I’ve been all tied up at work and it’s killing me.”
In both cases it’s clear they’ve been working quite a bit, but their metaphor choices are telling. The first calls for excitement, the second for empathy.
If you’re feeling off or disempowered, pay attention to the meta-metaphors you and those around you are using. Are they aligned with how you want to view and act in the world?
It works both ways. Metaphors have the power to shape how you feel. The good news is you get to choose how you say things. Pay attention to your meta-metaphors even if you can’t come up with alternatives.
Just the effort of paying attention to what metaphors you use, and trying to pick ones that feel more in line with how you’d prefer to feel, is 90% of the battle journey.
✌️
If you enjoyed this post, please give it a ♥️ or share it. It means a lot.
Metaphors are powerful - they affect how your brain receives and interprets information. Here’s some more info on metaphors. Some I’ve read, seen, or listened to and inspired this post — some I haven’t. If you wanted to dig in I wanted to share what I found:
This makes me feel like 90% of my vocabulary is metaphors