We all have it, the tiny voice inside our head,\u00a0criticizing\u00a0our every\u00a0decision. The smug, egotistical artist inside of us, telling us we’re not good enough. Lately this voice has been getting louder; maybe it’s trying to get me to pay attention. It’s always there when I don’t live up to my own expectations, or wish I had done something better (or different). It screams at me if I’m\u00a0anxious about a new idea, or when a\u00a0big change is on the horizon.<\/p>\n
I tend to find\u00a0myself allying\u00a0with this inner critic. Its words can sting, but I still listen.\u00a0Mostly I try to reprogram it, give\u00a0the words a different meaning, and change the negative to positive. Other times I use its words as my motivation, a reason to keep moving.<\/p>\n
When it\u00a0tells me that I’ll fail, I work harder. When the voice says\u00a0I’m not as good as someone else, I find ways that I am unique and successful. When it speaks I listen, and then I change my focus.<\/p>\n
The voice comes in many forms. Sometimes it’s an idea or a fleeting thought. Many times it’s a\u00a0reaction to emotion or stress.<\/p>\n
When it gets loud you know that something\u00a0needs attention. That “thing” inside of you is yelling, trying to make you turn your head or change direction. The voice is usually saying something negative, the thing we don’t want<\/em> to hear, which is why it can hurt, and why we would rather\u00a0suppress it. We are most vulnerable to ourselves, and because of this\u00a0our voice\u00a0also\u00a0know when to confess that\u00a0we let ourselves down.<\/p>\n To me this voice is an alarm.\u00a0It’s my way of knowing when I’m standing still and need to start moving again. It gives me pause and helps me see that I need to make a change.\u00a0My situation\u00a0might be something as mundane as needing to de-clutter my workspace, but\u00a0this alarm also wakes me up\u00a0when I find myself lost in a creative slump. And instead of hitting the snooze button I jump\u00a0up and get to work.<\/p>\n It’s not always easy, and I don’t always succeed. But I listen, take notice, and hopefully take action.<\/p>\n My\u00a0inner critic is not my\u00a0enemy, but I never let it have the last word.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We all have it, the tiny voice inside our head,\u00a0criticizing\u00a0our every\u00a0decision. The smug, egotistical artist inside of us, telling us we’re not good enough. Lately this voice has been getting louder; maybe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":20329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n