The Metaphorical Self

Discover how your identity is built from invisible metaphors and cultural scripts.

The Architecture of Metaphor

Every thought you think is already wearing a costume. Deep in your mind lie image-schemas and conceptual frames that lend shape to experience. Lakoff and Johnson revealed that these metaphors do more than colour our language, they form the scaffolding of perception, emotion and action. Your sense of “I” is not a little homunculus peering through your skull, but a dynamic pattern of cultural scripts running through your inner dialogue.

How Metaphors Shape Your Identity

Imagine two people faced with the same blank page. One mentally thinks “I’m no writer,” locking themselves into a frame where they see themselves as a fixed instrument of zero capacity. The other thinks “This page is waiting for my story,” framing themselves as a collaborative canvas. The first avoids the page, the second fills it. These invisible scripts guide attention, fuel motivation and determine what feels possible.

Diagnostic Lens: Self-as-Metaphor Map

This lens reveals the core metaphors you live by... those comparisons that silently define your identity. By mapping the dominant “self” metaphors (for example, “I’m a fortress,” “I’m a vessel”), you surface the foundational frames that scaffold your sense of who you are.

Hey! I'm Chris.

I teach smart people how to feel human again.

[The Dirt] Newsletter offers brain-rewiring, metaphor-slinging, self-authorship tools for mental misfits (like you?).

This is not "self help" in any traditional sense. This is the recovery of your agency. Literally.

It's like therapy, but with less crying and more “Oh… that explains everything!”

Subscribe for Weekly Insights into Self-Authorship

This list is small and personal.
Unsubscribe anytime, and your email vanishes like it was never here.
(Yes, really.)
Use your real email.
That’s the one I’m writing to.

A Story of Reframing

Maria believed she was “terrible at brainstorming.” That self-critique echoed an underlying metaphor: Self equals Fixed reservoir. She journalled “What if I am an Evolving ecosystem of ideas?” and then spoke it aloud as “I am an evolving ecosystem.” In that moment her stance shifted. Brainstorming became exploration rather than trial. Over weeks she noted small wins, playful associations and a quiet confidence emerging.

A Mini-Workshop: Mapping Your Metaphorical Self

Use these steps in the moments when it matters most... before your 3 pm call, while drafting a key email or in any moment of doubt:.

Notice three self-statements you use in context today (for example, “I’m losing focus,” “I always hesitate,” “I’m not persuasive”).
Trace each to its hidden metaphor (for example, “I’m losing focus” signals Self equals Flickering signal).
Reframe each into a liberating model (for example, Self equals Calibrated instrument). Then own it in first person: “I am a calibrated instrument.”
Journal one moment this afternoon when your new metaphor guided your choice, response or creative spark.

This simple practice exposes the strings behind your self-talk and hands you the scissors.

Collaborative Reflection: Metaphor Mirror

Partner with a peer to share the metaphors you’ve mapped. Invite them to suggest alternative metaphors for each frame and discuss how the new images shift your self-perception. This mutual exchange deepens insight into the metaphors you inhabit.

* Footnote: Referring to the self in third-person invites a meta-perspective. Clinically, this distancing helps reveal thought patterns that feel automatic when spoken in first person. By naming the script before adopting it, you build awareness and agency.

Next Steps

Explore the Future pillar strategy pieces to craft a future aligned with your chosen metaphors.
Get The Dirt for weekly-ish rambles about how this mind stuff plays out in real life.