Yesterday I wrote about the inner critic and how to shut that thing up.
That 3-step process is first aid for the mind and you are your own first-responder. The mean voice that tells us how rubbish our work is, how much we’re wasting our time, how we’ll never ‘make it’, might seem like the end of the world at the time, but in reality, it is a scrape on the knee, a bang on the funny-bone. No blood, no trauma; just a little self-inflicted psychological torture.
Having said that, it is like water torture; the drip, drip, drip of vitriol can poison us if we let it, if we aren’t aware or don’t learn to combat it. But once we’ve learned techniques for dealing with self-doubt – because that’s what the critic is, the self-doubt that someone bequeathed to us when we were a child, the mean voice becomes just a minor setback, a little speed bump on the creative journey.
So in a way, that little (or big?) voice may just be our inner child trying to figure the world out.
It’s all part of the process. We learned from a young age to ask ourselves certain questions before venturing out, before opening our mouths and saying the thing that’s rattling around in there. It’s evolutionary. Our fear and the questions it raises have kept us safe in times when we didn’t know if the pretty berry on the bush was food or death. Unfortunately, fear and it’s many voices remain a constant companion for most of us even in the 21st century.
Awareness, listening for the inner child, is the first step, then we apply the figurative band-aid and keep moving towards our creative goals.
The GOOD NEWS is, our inner critic, once under control, can be used to our advantage. Coaxed out from its hidey-hole and trained we can learn to listen to what our inner child is really saying. Anyone doing creative work needs to develop and listen to this trained voice because it’s your intuition! A well-trained inner judge can be an excellent source of other perspectives, especially in the absence of other trusted people. Here’s a great podcast from Inspire Nation on this topic. There is so much in this interview with Due Quach that I sat with paper and pen taking notes. Due calls this our Inner Sage.
So, once we’ve got it trained, what I am talking about here is moving on to the installation phase, moving from State to Trait peace of mind, and calm clarity about our work. This can happen; I feel as though I am at this place now. The inner critic is calmed and quietened but helps me discern and judge my writing fairly. I write daily with little input from the old critical voice. It’s lovely, let me tell you! What’s more, I’ve just realised that I never call myself stupid, moron, or idiot anymore. This used to be a daily event that drove my old boss to distraction. She could see me, my talent for the job I was doing, but sadly I couldn’t.
I want to write here “If I can do it, anyone can” but that sounds a little self-deprecating…
Something else I am thinking about…
Archetypes and their use in the evolution of consciousness…Dr. Amit Goswami
Quote of the Day
“There is not a big bang, …it bangs all the time!” ~ Hans-Peter Dürr (1929-2014).
Video of the Day
You are a fantastic writer and it comes across totally making sense to me. Love it. Keep writing. (I always tell my son the same but in different context…keep shooting:)
Thanks so much Jenny. That feedback is so appreciated 🙏