Taming Your Gremlins
Taming Your Gremlins — Rick Carson
This is a small book with a sharp edge. Rick Carson isn’t trying to impress you. He’s trying to wake you up.
At its core, the book is about one thing: the quiet, constant voice in your head that undermines you. He calls it the “gremlin.” You already know it. You’ve just never named it.
And once you see it clearly, you can’t unsee it.
The Core Idea: You Are Not Your Gremlin
Carson draws a hard line early.
Your gremlin is not you.
It’s a pattern. A voice. A habit of thought that’s been running for years—often unnoticed, often unquestioned. It criticizes, exaggerates, distracts, and quietly steers your behavior.
And here’s the uncomfortable truth:
It runs more of your life than you think.
Not because it’s powerful.
Because it’s automatic.
The Four Moves That Change Everything
Carson doesn’t give you a complicated system. He gives you four simple practices. They look small. They aren’t.
1. Notice Your Gremlin
This is where it starts.
You don’t fight it. You don’t fix it. You just notice it.
When that voice says, “You’re not ready,” or “This won’t work,” or “You always mess this up”—you catch it in the act.
That’s the first win.
Most people never get here.
They believe the voice is the truth.
2. Be Aware of Your Body
Your gremlin doesn’t just live in your thoughts. It shows up physically—tight shoulders, shallow breathing, tension in your gut.
Carson pushes you to reconnect with your body.
Why? Because awareness breaks autopilot.
When you feel what’s happening, you interrupt the pattern. You come back to the present. You get a choice again.
3. Own Your Choice
This is where people usually resist.
You are choosing your responses—even when it doesn’t feel like it.
That inner voice may be loud. It may be persistent. But it doesn’t make decisions. You do.
This is accountability at a deeper level.
No blame. No excuses.
Just ownership.
4. Play With It
This is the part most people underestimate.
Carson tells you not to take your gremlin so seriously. Get curious. Even amused.
Give it a voice. Exaggerate it. Turn it into a cartoon.
Why?
Because what you can laugh at, you’re no longer controlled by.
What This Really Means in Practice
This book isn’t about eliminating negative thoughts. That’s not realistic.
It’s about changing your relationship with them.
When you stop identifying with the gremlin:
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You take more action
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You hesitate less
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You recover faster from setbacks
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You stop overcomplicating simple decisions
In leadership, this shows up everywhere.
That hesitation before a hard conversation.
That second-guessing after a decision.
That quiet doubt when things get uncertain.
That’s the gremlin at work.
And most leaders never call it out.
A Few Lines Worth Holding Onto
Carson doesn’t overload you with quotes, but the ideas land:
“You can’t get rid of your gremlin, but you can learn to tame it.”
“Awareness alone is curative.”
Simple. Direct. True.
Reflection Questions
Take a few minutes with these. Don’t rush them.
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Where does your gremlin show up most consistently—decisions, relationships, or self-doubt?
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What does your gremlin typically say to you?
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When was the last time you believed it without questioning it?
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What does it cost you when you listen to it?
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What changes if you simply notice it instead of obeying it?
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Where are you avoiding action because of that voice?
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What would you do differently this week if you treated that voice as noise—not truth?
Related Media & Ideas
This book doesn’t have direct film adaptations, but its ideas show up in:
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) — especially the concept of “defusion” (separating from your thoughts)
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Eckhart Tolle’s work — observing the “voice in your head” without identifying with it
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — challenging automatic negative thoughts
If you’ve read A New Earth, you’ll see the overlap immediately.
About the Author: Rick Carson
Rick Carson is a psychologist who spent decades helping people break free from self-defeating patterns. His work is practical, not theoretical.
He doesn’t try to rewire your personality.
He helps you see what’s already happening.
That’s his credibility. He’s been in the room with people long enough to know where they get stuck—and how simple the first step actually is.
Final Thought
Most people try to improve their performance by adding something—more discipline, more strategy, more effort.
Carson takes the opposite approach.
He asks you to remove the interference.
Just notice the voice.
Don’t obey it.
That alone changes more than you expect.
Start there.
