I read The Pebble in the Shoe…5 Steps to a Simple and Confident Life, by Jim Fannin. This is a book about what is holding us back to be the best we can be. Jim not only helps you to understand the problem, he offers you 5 simple, but powerful, tools to correct it.
I want to share a wonderful excerpt from the book with you.
The Pebble In The Shoe
What’s your pebble?
Everyone has had a pebble in his or her shoe. You may have one or two now. It’s the small, nagging thoughts that eventually weigh you down. Some pebbles have been hidden, undetected for years. Others push, prod, and make their presence felt every day.
Each pebble intrudes into the lives of the unsuspecting. At different times in life the pebbles arrive. Although they are small and mostly undetected, they represent many unresolved thoughts, images and experiences.
Some are pebbles of doubt. They form a single thought that occurred years, months or weeks before.
Some pebbles are lodged only in your business shoes.
Some reside in your house slippers that you tuck under your bed.
Some pebbles find their way into your golf shoes while others form in the shoes worn while you parent.
Unfortunately, some pebbles travel in all your shoes regardless of where you walk or run.
Some pebbles are of fear.
Others are created from guilt, rejection or shame. Maybe not today, but they eventually arrive unannounced and usually at the most inappropriate time.
What challenges do they present?
To run the marathon race of life at your most efficient speed, you must be free of embarrassment, guilt, rejection, fear, envy, jealousy, anger, impatience, frustration and worry.
All can be lodged in any shoe, from a pair of loafers worn by a city dweller in Manhattan, to a pair of boots on a farm in Montana.
These intangible pebbles are crippling.
They destroy relationships.
They contribute to overeating and gaining unhealthy weight.
They coax us into drugs, alcohol and other addictions.
They destroy families and alienate friends.
They thwart the potential of our children and physically snuff extra years from our life.
These are the pebbles in the shoe.
The pebble can cause you to quit or perform with complete indifference.
It can help instigate a fight or add disrespectful silence to an otherwise dynamic relationship.
Even the desire for fame, fortune or power can turn into a pebble in your shoe if left undetected.
Most pebbles stir up the past, cloud the future and keep the present to a blink of the eye.
Like a garden that’s been freshly tilled, a pebble can reappear without warning or detection.
Prevention and removal are your only options for simplicity, balance and abundance.
If you’d like to learn how to clear your mind of indecision, uncertainty, confusion and fear you’ll enjoy The Pebble in the Shoe
About the Author:
Jim Fannin is a renowned sports performance coach who has coached innumerable professional athletes to championship levels. Jim has also trained millions of corporate executives and his thought management systems are impactful. Jim’s principles work in all walks of life and help anyone wanting to reach their full potential.
Did you enjoy this excerpt? What are you thoughts?
Do you have a pebble in the shoe?
What obstacle are you trying to overcome right now?
♥
Yeah. Have my share of pebbles. Now have to dislodge them one by one.
It seems like I am always struggling with pebbles in my shoe. Some are just simply boulders…self doubt, fear that my stories and art are just simply not good enough no matter how much I enjoy creating them. Still people give me such wonderful encouragement to continue regardless, which I have. I loved this article. I seen myself in it and loved the analogy. It is thought provoking and makes me want to break those boulders down.♥
This is a great way of putting across the idea of how our worries weigh us down, I liked the way you have highlighted the pebbles and simplified them.
I think my pebble is my weight 🙂 I just don’t seem to get a schedule for managing it, but I don’t give up easy.
All the best for the UBC. I know you will be splendid and I shall be smiling through the month.
This is an amazingly wonderful and a very thought provoking post, Vidya! Loved the way the concept of the pebble in the shoe is explained. I can identify 2 pebbles from the chart above and I certainly need to remove them from my shoes! Thanks for giving that nudge 🙂
Self-Doubt is always the biggest pebble in my shoe. It constantly gets back into the shoe no matter how many damn times I pull it out and throw it away. It somehow gets back in there : D.
Looks like a lovely book…the excerpt from the book is inspiring. Thanks for bringing this up…I guess I need to get working on removing the pebble in my shoe now. Thanks!
I liked the analogy of problems with pebbles in the shoe. It expresses how painful and frustrating it can be.
Amazing post. We all have pebbles in our life— some big ,others small. We strive to get rid of them, but some will always remain.This is life!!
A very interesting and helpful way to understand the roadblocks we have created in our path. I like this part very much -“Like a garden that’s been freshly tilled, a pebble can reappear without warning or detection.”
Like most, I too have some pebbles that need to be removed before they start hurting my feet some more 🙂 Thanks Vidya for this thought-provoking post.
What a wonderful metaphor that rings so true. Our feet keep us grounded and connected but those pebbles certainly hinder. Thanks Vidya … lovely post.
Interesting way of representing emotions as pebbles. These intangible pebbles are crippling – this is ever so true.
Oh yes! I’ve had rocks too! Now I’ve learned to acknowledge these pebbles and consciously work on them.
But literally miles still to run with them! 😉
Looks like a book I’d enjoy!
At some point in my life, I think I have had all these pebbles. As time went by, I have learnt to separate the pebbles into varying degrees of importance. If the anxiety or worry is warranted, I let myself feel it, without trying be overwhelmed by it. Does that make sense? What I mean is, I experience the worry but do not get bogged down by it.
The extract is wonderful to read, Vidya. For some reason, it reminded me of this story:
http://www.storlietelling.com/2013/08/07/rocks-pebbles-sand-a-story-bite-about-the-important-things-in-life/
yes.. having quite a few pebbles..
Very true, I think, most of us have got our share of pebbles, just have to take them out!
Tina from The Sunny Side of Life
I wonder if there is anyone without a pebble in his/ her shoes.
‘Even the desire for fame, fortune or power can turn into a pebble in your shoe if left undetected.’ So True.
Thanks for sharing the excerpt.
while i do have my share of pebbles, I guess Im just not at that stage of life where Im ready to discuss it on the blog yet…
I think I need to sit and remove these pebbles one by one. A tedious task ahead of me. But I have a lifetime to accomplish it. 🙂
This is a really thought provoking post. I think the analogy of a pebble in your shoe is perfect to describe those nagging thoughts. Time to sit and think about my pebbles!
I have boulders in my shoes and am trying to dislodge them, one by one.It’s tough but totally worth it. This book looks like a keeper 🙂
There’s more pebbles in my shoes, Vidya, than there is gravel in my driveway. Just pulling one of them out, though, I’d say negative self-talk.
Very true….we all are well aware of our shares of it, but in order to keep pace with the life we compromise…and that is the saddest part… indeed
I appreciate your idea of sharing this with us….thanks
It is true! There are some pebbles of life that we all suffer from. There is a great need to identify whether they exist or not. Interesting!
I could totally relate with the pebble, I guess I have one or two for myself too! 🙁
Oh, Boy,
I know what those pebbles feel like…
Sometimes they feel like GIGANTIC rocks.
The more we evolve, hopefully we will know how to release them.
Love you more than 5 Siamese cats bathing in Lake Superior. xxxx
This makes so much sense..the pebble in the shoe…! It really made me think I think I need to pick up the book..
Now I have to kick out those pebbles in my shoes too… they are just irritating been there for long.
WOW…for over twenty years now I’ve said: “It’s not the boulder in your path but the pebble in your shoe that is most irritating and challenging to overcome.” Guess I should have TM’d that, haha! Cheers! Kaarina
Kaarina, when I posted this, I kept thinking, what a “Kaarina-concept” 🙂 I am not at all surprised that you’d say this. From this moment on, I attribute this wonderful analogy to you, my dear friend! As I’ve told you before, if ever I need a Life Coach, you’d be the one I’d talk to. Hugs!
That’s a simple and powerful way to describe “the small, nagging thoughts that eventually weigh you down”!
Needless to say, I do have my own ‘pebbles’, different ones at different points of time, some small, some large. I guess I’ll have to get rid of the existing ‘pebbles’, try to prevent any others entering my ‘shoe’, and get rid of those that do manage to enter.
All of us have our share of pebbles in the shoes. Sometimes mine feel like rocks! The nagging thoughts return on a rebound sometimes, but yes I am working on it to dislodge those pebbles, little by little. Thank you Vidya!
Hi Vidya,
I’d of got here sooner. Just grabbed the pebbles out of my shoes and made a pathway that led to positivity.
A thoughtful article. There are no obstacles. Only challenges that I can see through.
Thank you, dear friend.
Gary 🙂