Jan 28

Jan 28 What If Nothing’s Wrong?

Hi, I'm Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

What if just for today, you let go of the judgment and story that something is wrong with you? That you need fixing. Could that possibly facilitate growth and transformation? Is your right or wrong judgment of ‘what is’ perhaps holding you back?

Susan Henkel, a practicing psychotherapist of 45 years, had an epiphany while listening to one of her patients' litany of wrongs. Susan asked herself, ‘If we let go of the self-judgment would that allow us to create what we want to be and do?’

If interested, check out Susan’s popular Ted Talk on YouTube, titled What if There’s Nothing Wrong with You? and she also wrote a book with the same title.

Perhaps there is something wrong with you right now. I’m not saying there isn't. What I am saying is what if you let go of the right or wrong judgment. Would you then have more confidence and courage for what you're passionate about?

We’ve heard the cliché’: it is what it is. And yes, it’s often said with a sigh and a sense of resignation, ‘It is what it is, wah, wah!'.’ However, what if ‘what if there’s nothing wrong with you’ is just ‘It is what it is’ without the resignation, judgment, blame, and criticism?

Many of us, spend each day silently repeating what’s wrong with us over and over again in our heads. Could we get to the bottom of the problem without a right or wrong diagnosis while letting go of what you should or shouldn’t be doing?

In general, I find two different, both positive, outcomes when I ask my clients to play the ‘imagine nothing is wrong’ game.

1 - They find an underlying positive result from their self-diagnosed 'wrongness.' For instance, at times, your gregarious nature may lead you to blurt out an insensitive remark. However, without your outgoing personality, you wouldn’t have as many supportive friends as you currently enjoy.

2 - Once they aren’t looking through the screen of judgment and criticism, they uncover a surprising solution and the strength to handle it. We think we won’t have the motivation to change unless we criticize ourselves. But the opposite is true. Constant blame, judgment, and criticism is willpower depleting and can ultimately paralyze us.

Imaging nothing is wrong often requires forgiveness for how bad a person we think we are. How do we forgive ourselves for what we have thought, done, not done, said, and not said?

How do you forgive yourself? According to Susan Henkel, It’s a choice. When you choose to let go of all the ways you say you’re wrong and instead say something more powerful, such as ‘I’m human and I’m doing the best I can,’ your heart is open to acceptance and inclusion. You’ve dissolved all judgments, blame, and criticism.

One forgiveness practice Susan recommends is looking in the mirror in the morning and saying aloud, 'Liz, (you can use your name here. Ha!) Just for today, what if nothing is wrong with you?’

What if, Just for today, you let go of the judgment and story that something is wrong with you that needs fixing? Could that possibly facilitate your growth and transformation? Is your right or wrong assessment of 'what is' holding you back?

Maybe it is. Asking what if nothing is wrong is a reinterpretation practice that dissolves blame, judgment, and criticism and replaces it with ‘what is.’

I’m Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and thank you for watching this video about asking the question: what if nothing’s wrong? If you have any questions about this video, about health and wellness, or wellness coaching with me, please reach out via my website at lizmosercoaching.com