When Inner Critics Attack
Yesterday I shared my Valentine’s gift with the world: the You Are Loved guided journal & mandala colouring book.? Happily, this has gone over so well, my web server has crashed repeatedly.
I know I create and share (and sell!) things all the time.
That doesn’t mean it’s easy for me.
It’s actually NOT easy for me to put my stuff (and myself!) out there.? For me to do this work for a living requires daily discipline for meeting with and transforming my inner critics.
My inner critics had a FIELD DAY with the self-love journal/colouring book project.
They hated almost everything about it and they were ridiculously mean in their reasons why this was a stupid thing for me to do.
It took A LOT of work for me to calm down.
I sent them love.? I listened to their complaints.? I negotiated.? I got all tense and afraid.? I did energy work and journaling.? I used the Un-Sticking Station in the Creative Dream Circle to transform them into helpful allies.
I spent a lot of time and energy giving them the time and attention and love they needed, so they could feel safe enough to settle down.
This work is a regular part of what I do when I launch new creative projects out into the world.
I wanted to make sure to share this part of the story because too often we focus on the shiny happy endings and dreams come true.? You may see that I put a lot of stuff out into the world and assume that this is all shiny happy fun for me.
This leaves you with this sense that “things just work” for other people and that if your dream doesn’t just magically come true on its own – that means you can’t have your dream.
This is EXACTLY what your inner critic wants you to think.? This kind of thinking stops dreams in their tracks.
Also – part of what makes inner critics so powerful is that we do tend to keep them hidden. They shrink in the light.
So I like to keep mine well-lit by sharing the truth about them.
Your inner critics freaking out is not a sign to stop.
Inner critics freak out.? That’s their job.? Your job is to go after your dreams anyway.
I know it’s hard.
And if you’re dealing with this I am sending you so much love…
But I’m also sending a firm reminder that you can’t STOP just because your inner critics freak out.
You have to take charge.? Do not wait for your inner critics to magically change on their own.
Unless, of course, you WANT to be miserable.
Your inner critics are scared wounded inner children who need love and healing.? They’ll freak out at the most awkward times.
They still deserve love because they are a part of you.
It’s like your dreams – all the things you want to do doing, the way you want to be living, the you you really want to be – live in the most amazing castle ever.
The inner critics are the sharks that live in the moat around the castle.? Their whole mission is to keep you from entering the castle.
Their mission is not fueled by anger or malice or anything – they’re just afraid of the changes that will happen once you enter the castle.? They simply don’t understand that you have the courage, integrity and wisdom to handle the changes.
So what are you going to do?
There are only two choices:
- Run away and live forever in the Land Where No Dreams Come True
- Figure out how to put the drawbridge down
Some people like to pretend that there is another choice, that you can somehow wait them out, and maybe tomorrow the inner critics will quiet down so they can have their creative play time.
These people are just in denial about living in the Land Where No Dreams Come True.
Yes, finding that drawbridge and putting it down really is hard work and it’s scary and doing it over and over again is a total pain in the ass.
But letting those sharks win is just stupid.? Your dreams are too important.
And the treasures that live in the castle are a gazillion times better than you think they are.
Sometimes my inner critics just freak out because they’re freaking out.
Sometimes they freak out because I am onto something that could change everything.
That was what was happening on Monday.
Now that I have made one small guided journal/colouring book, and now that I see that people really love it, I see this whole new path opening up:
BIG, DEEP, CRAZY MAGIC guided journals and colouring books.? A HUGE LIBRARY FULL OF THEM.
Once I get into the swing of creating these, I believe I can be doing one every month.? They’ll be available for sale on my website – and free for my darling Creative Dream Circle members.
Plus we’ll do live streaming video playdates to journal with them together!
The thought of this makes me want to dance and spray glitter all over everything.
Riding out the Inner Critic Freak-out on Monday, and taking the time to use the tools that work to transform the inner critics, means I get to this place: having a new idea, being inspired and excited and seeing that the path is clear ahead of me.
It means I can dive in to a new dream.? Totally worth doing the work of dealing with the inner critics!
If you’re a Creative Dream Circle member – you can use the tools in the Un-Sticking Station to deal with ANY inner critic attack.? It will lead you through the whole process of transforming your inner critic lovingly and effectively.
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?Dear Andrea,
?Between my personal and business life, I had a lot on my plate. I was truly stuck with Time Management Skills.? My thought process at the time was to have a perfect schedule/itinerary. You helped me to realize that Time Management is more of being *effective* with your work within that time frame.
