FLCAN Conquers Fear With Education and Promotion of the Entire Plant

Hi, I am David Jones, the marketing and communications director for the Florida Cannabis Action Network, I’d like to share with you a conversation I had with a fellow cannabis supporter about overcoming fears associated with being an activist.:
       Whether the people we talk to use cannabis or not, there are many different philosophies and interpretations surrounding the plant we must keep mindful of. It is not the goal of the activist to discredit the experience that others may have had, but, instead, help reframe their perspective to become open to the possibility. I am going to share with you how to overcome the four internal blocks people have in order to forward them into action.

The acronym I use is: GAIL
Starting backwards from L to G.

L – Limiting Beliefs: These are beliefs that, if held to be true, limit action. These are the most common, and when you hear a limiting belief, the way to overcome it is to challenge it. For example, if a woman believes that there is a glass ceiling in the corporate world, she would be less inclined to put in her application for promotion. If I was the one talking with her, I’d challenge that limiting belief by asking, “What other successful women do you know in the corporate world that’s in the C-Suite?” If she doesn’t know right then and there, I’d ask her to research it and get back to me. The real magic is to ask open-ended questions and have the person truly think for themselves. You don’t want to give them the answers, but empower them to come to the conclusions on their own – the same goes with everyone’s relationship with cannabis. When you’re having an open conversation about cannabis never be judgmental towards a person and say that their life’s experience is wrong!

I – Interpretations: It is human nature for us to satisfy our need to ‘know’ what is going on. However, it is not uncommon for the human mind to latch on to the first idea that seemingly makes sense to us, although we believe that thought to be true. These interpretations are just that – an interpretation – of a particular situation. The way to challenge them is ask the person you’re talking with to look at it from a different angle. That loosens up their original interpretation and shifts them to a state of open-mindedness.

A – Assumptions: The cliché is common: When you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME! Assumptions may be common, but they’re a type of belief that is more deeply rooted in recurring experience. Assumptions are harder to shake up and replace than the previous two internal blocks, but the attitude to approach shifting the person you are talking to would be – if it happened in the past, doesn’t mean it will happen again in the future.

G – Gremlins: Gremlins are at the core of our internal blocks, all of the blocks above stem from gremlins. These are the most difficult beliefs to change because they are the little, self-defeating thoughts we have about the world. These thoughts stop action and possibilities in its track because they are the little voices in our heads to not put forth the action. We freeze in fear with these thoughts: “I’m not smart enough…”; “It’s not worth doing so don’t try….”; “I’m not healthy enough…”; etc. Some issues require inner work to sort out, don’t take anything personally because if it hits close to a gremlin you will soon realize you just hit a button of theirs.

As a professionally-trained lifestyle management coach, I interpret button pushing moments as wonderful moments of personal growth, but when we are petitioning signatures or engaging people into a conversation about cannabis, it’s typically not the best environment to have a real, heart-to-heart conversation and explore where those thoughts are coming from and how they’re effecting who they are presently being and how those current beliefs are impacting their future and the state of Florida.

When you are in the community doing face-to-face work, it’s important to hear them out, acknowledge and validate what you hear them saying, and then empower them to take action and seek out answers for themselves.

This plant brings people together from all walks of life. Let’s embrace that and share our cannabis story with others.