Silencing the Inner Critic

It was a leap and I knew it. But any great thing – any bold move begins with a risk.  If your choice is to live a full life, to be fully ALIVE, risk is inevitable.

Our hearts, our ideas, our money – sometimes you must ask, ‘am I willing to risk something important to have an opportunity to gain something great?’

I’m making plans for my life – to write more, to create more. It is a huge risk. It is a risk to my finances, with my heart, in my relationships. These risks are all very real – and I am aware of them. I will try to mitigate as many as possible.

But in making plans to take this leap, I’ve become aware of something very important. The critic in my head.

The asshole boss  from my past telling me I don’t know what I’m doing.

The worried parent concerned I’m not thinking things through.

The jealous friend (?) spewing a constant reminder that I’m not smart enough, pretty enough, anything enough – to have something ‘better’ than she.

I have dealt with the inner critic before – she is a vixen and she sucks.

Yet, these are the tapes that are still stuck in my head and there’s a reason I’m hearing them right now, in this moment.

For every given purpose, you will face resistance. The resistance usually comes in the form of a wound – meaning a moment in time where you were criticized, mocked, or humiliated because of your gifts that will bring you to your purpose.  The messages begin early in life (sometimes very early in life) and continue to perpetuate via reinforcement from life influencers or the inner critic until you stop them. The stronger the call, the more resistance and deeper the wound.

Much of the resistance we face manifests in us as shame. Find your greatest source of shame, and you’ll discover your purpose in life.

For on the other side of your shame, lies your destiny.

Currently, I’m wrestling with the inner critic reinforcing the belief that the good things are not for me. The work and the passion and the love I desire in my life is unattainable. It tells me I’m not talented enough, smart enough, pretty enough. It says I’m reckless and not thinking things through and that I don’t know what I’m doing. It says I should be afraid to want all the wonderful things meant for me. Trying to attain this will only lead to disappointment, and there is nothing that hurts me quite like being disappointed. (ding – ding – ding… that’s the money shot right there, folks)

The critic is not my boss, or my parent, or even my selfish frenemy. The critic is me and my agreement with the tales they have told – what I tell myself about me because of their words.

The key to silencing the inner critic is to discover your authentic self and then discover the God within you.  It is so important to be able to interpret that voice – your voice -  from the critic that is banging around in there. Listen, really listen to your voice – it is found in the things and the people and the stories that you love – it is found in the quiet stillness behind all the stress and worry and anxiety of life. It’s the place in your heart where you sink in and say – Ah, yes this is right… every single time.

You were created for greatness – and so was I.

Let’s do this.