Conceptual Metaphor Systems

Explore the invisible metaphors that structure how you think, speak, and feel... and decide which ones still serve you.

Architecture of Metaphor Systems

Every phrase you use carries a hidden frame. “Time is money,” “I’m under pressure,” “life is a journey”... each maps one experience onto another. These mappings aren’t decorative. They form the operating system of your mind, shaping how you interpret events, regulate emotion and choose action.

How Metaphor Systems Run

Metaphors loop through your language, thought and feeling. In stress they trigger the same scene... panic under pressure or war on obstacles. When new information doesn’t fit your metaphorical frame you feel stuck or overwhelmed. Recognising which frames are active lets you spot the glitches before they freeze you.

Diagnostic Lens: Phrase-Scanner

Metaphors hide in everyday speech. This lens scans for recurring phrases that imply a structure... identifying the frame beneath the words. By cataloguing your own habitual metaphors, you reveal the default programs running in your mind.

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I teach smart people how to feel human again.

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A Story of Reframing Metaphors

Connor’s career was always “climbing a ladder.” When a promotion stalled he felt trapped. In his journal he logged every ladder-phrase: “I’m stuck on a rung,” “I need higher ground.” He traced the frame to early praise for “always aiming higher.” Then he tested a new metaphor: “My path is a river, flowing around obstacles.” He repeated “I flow through change” each morning. Soon he began spotting lateral moves and collaborations, navigating his career with fluidity instead of tension.

A Mini-Workshop: Phrase-Scanner

Next time you hit friction... deadline stress, creative block, relationship tension:

List five phrases you use automatically (“burning out,” “hit a wall,” “sold out”).
Decode each by writing its mapping (Self = fuel, obstacle = wall, integrity = commodity).
Notice the effect: what feelings and actions follow each phrase?
Select a fresh metaphor that offers more possibility (“I pace my energy,” “I weave through challenges,” “I stand by my values”).
Declare it in first person before your next trigger: “I pace my energy.”
Journal the shift: note how your mood, clarity or creativity changes.

Each new phrase is a patch to your inner operating system.

Metaphor Swap Session

Partner with a peer. Swap one habitual phrase and its new alternative. Role-play a scenario where each fires and coach each other through speaking the new metaphor aloud. This social reinforcement accelerates adoption of your fresh frames.

Next Steps

Explore Identity Scripting and Internalised Beliefs to see how roles and assumptions intersect with metaphors.
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