Am I running my life or am I letting someone else run it for me?

Why did I make this decision or that one? Are my decisions driven by my core values? Or, are my decisions driven by my puppet masters?

For most of my life, the puppet masters have run my life. I made decisions and actions based on the puppet master pressures I felt from my family, friends, and society. My puppet masters’ values were never my own, but I felt enormous pressure to bow to those values. I had yet to identify my own core values, so, in facing puppet master pressures, I had nothing to adhere to, no foundation that I could stand on in order to challenge my puppet masters and their poisonous ideas.

Recently, though, I have tried to identify the puppet masters in my life. This is a process of identifying where the puppet masters live; how they impact my thoughts, feelings, decisions, and actions; and, ultimately, challenging them to a duel.

It’s an uncomfortable process, finding and challenging your puppet masters. They’re so familiar and comfortable, like using mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese and crusty, warm bread slathered in butter as comfort food (maybe you can tell I have a long history of turning to food to cope with life?). On the other hand, resistance is uncomfortable.

Isn’t it much easier to just let the puppet masters hang around? Give them a month’s free rent?

The process of challenging your puppet masters upsets homeostasis, it upsets the order, it’s like turning on a blender filled only with ice cubes. At first, nothing moves. So much resistance. Then, you add in your challenge. You add liquid. That “liquid challenge” stirs things up, upsets the order.

This process is challenging and important. Important because through it you can evict all of the puppet master squatters and finally discover who you are.

And don’t you want to know who you really are?