The strange case of the roaring foot massager

Okay so the other day my girlfriend and I were binging our new favorite show, The Circle. It's a social experiment where contestants go "in disguise" with virtual identities and flirt, befriend and catfish their way to winning a $100,000 prize. It's insanely addicting to watch. We made it through 3 seasons in like 10 days. And in the most recent one, everyone who made it to the finale celebrated their achievements by treating themselves to an "at-home" spa day. Which meant they got in fancy robes, put on eye masks, the whole nine yards. But they also had something I'd never seen before: these small, portable, bubble foot spas. These things looked extra bougie and cozy and were only like $30 on Amazon. So I turned to Amanda and said, "We've gotta try those!" Her face lit up. And 2 days later one showed up at our door. We were waaaay too excited to try them out. So the second we got them, we opened them up, filled them with water, plugged them in, plopped down on the couch and hit the big, blue "ON" button. Instantly, the "foot spa" started humming. Bubbles started pouring from the edges. And both Amanda and I were like, "AH! This is nice!" But before we could even speak those words our little kitty, Crema, SHOT into the air. Seriously.... She jumped so high it would have given even Olympic pole vaulters a run for their money. Naturally, both me and Amanda, were shocked. Crema is normally chill around us. And this wasn't her typical reaction like how she is about other things that she doesn't like, such as vacuums or aluminum foil. So we jumped from the couch and trailed her, feet soaking wet, to see what had happened. The poor thing was cowering in the other room, pupils huge and terrified, shaking from head to tail. It was as if she'd seen a ghost. No matter how much we called her she would NOT come near us. After a few minutes of trying to soothe her, Amanda turned to me, "She must HATE the sound of those massagers." "Oh my god... You're right." You see, Crema was a rescue kitty. We don't know all the details of how she grew up. But the one thing we do know is she wasn't treated right. When we adopted her, she had a small limp. The vet told us this was because she'd had her leg broken (assumedly, by a previous owner). Now, it sickens (and angers) me to think anyone could do that to ANY animal ... much less our little 8-lb cat!! But, needless to say because of her experiences in early life, she came to us a very scared cat. In fact, the day we brought her home, Amanda and I had what we call her "Birthing Story." This was the day we brought her home: When we opened up the crate we'd carried her home in, she IMMEDIATELY jumped out and ran into our kitchen. I tried to calmly make my way toward her with a treat. But she turned and CLIMBED UP a small hole in between our cupboards. Amanda and I turned to each other and COULD NOT BELIEVE OUR EYES. She vanished from view. In other words, the small kitty we'd just brought home had disappeared within 5 minutes of being home. We both panicked. No matter how much we called, tempted her with food and waited, she would NOT come out of the hole. We shined a light on her and could see she was scared to death. We were scared she'd NEVER emerge. So I did the only thing I could think of. I took a hammer and SMASHED the baseboard of the cabinets so I could reach inside and pull her out. That's why we call it her "birthing story" because it was traumatic (for all of us). It was laborious. And we literally pulled her from the darkness into the light on the day we got her. Ever since, she's been the sweetest little thing. And we've learned to work with her quirks and appreciate her fears for what they really are... ...TRAUMA from her childhood. After being with us, her fearful moments have gotten MUCH LESS common. But every now and then, we get a glimpse into things that take her right back to where she used to be and live. And in those moments, you can see it's not HER reacting. It's a conditioned response ... to a deeply scarring event from her past. This is what we think happened with the foot massagers. Even though she wasn't in danger, the second they started to whiz and whir, it reminded her of something from another time and place. And instead of remaining calm and cool, she reverted right back to her fearful self. And her old patterns of hiding in fear took over... even though she hadn't done this in years. Needless to say, we're returning the massagers. But I can't help see this situation and think about the automatic responses that power so much of our lives... ...Moments where it's NOT us in control... But a conditioned response from our past taking over our actions. In my experience, this is one of the BIGGEST blockers for copywriters as they grow. I've run into these wall many times in my career. Times when a person told me my copy would never be good enough ... and because of things I was told growing up, I believed it and almost stopped writing. Times when a bad client treated me like garbage ... and because of how I'd been treated before, I let myself feel useless for it. Times when I finished a project I was proud of that flopped ... and because I didn't think I could be good enough, I questioned if I was ever capable of producing one of those big runaway hits. In those moments, it's normal to let your "automatic self" take over. To let fears, doubts and shame from other areas of life bleed into business. But if you push and instill better beliefs in yourself, you can remove those "conditioned" reactions one by one. So that your default action becomes strength, posture and power. In my [Freelance Freedom Bundle](~/AASl5QA~/RgRj-6zGP0SQaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY29weXNlY3JldHNhY2FkZW15LmNvbS91bHRpbWF0ZS1mcmVlbGFuY2UtZnJlZWRvbS1idW5kbGU_X2t4PUw0VmpMVktOSlQ1UWQzTkEtMkVRSnR6R242VlA5WnVxZE5mZGtfWkJZNjg3SEhZaHlfRU9JOXp5bDkxc01qbEYuVmFuQVdOVwNzcGNCCmIWxicZYofmQNBSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkxQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAFr0Q~~), I have several resources that specifically help freelancers work on these "mindset pieces" of business. (Pay particular attention to my interview with John McIntyre on Removing Your Mental Blocks to Grow). It might seem a little "woo-woo," but this stuff matters. A lot. What is a writer without control of their mind after all? Rob "In the market for a silent foot spa" Allen P.S. I feel like I can't send this email without at least ONE picture of Crema. So enjoy this treat of her using her SUPER TINY "work computer" that Amanda bought her the other day: Are we connected on Twitter? 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