THE INNER CRITIC

As an art teacher, life and creativity coach, I see the inner critic in people all the time.  The critic arrives at my studio (or over the phone) deeply lodged in my clients' bellies or hearts or heads.  It's been living there for years and years and years.

I'll bet you can recognize it in an instant...  it's that entity inside of you that reminds you you're not good enough, not talented enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not worthy...you get where I'm going here.  What a pain this thing is!  Just drags you down when you're poised to take great strides in your life.  Sighhhh.......

And just when I think I've quieted down my own critic, it hits me... WHAM!  POW!  Right smack in the kisser!  Owweee!!! 

If you read my blog yesterday you may have read the paragraph where I said, "I’ve even made appointments with myself in my daily organizer.  Try to treat my appointments with myself just as I would a client's.   Hhmmm.  That’s not working."

There!  Right there!  Did you see it?!  That's the inner critic!!  Oh, it didn't say I'm not important enough to keep dates with myself but that's exactly what it meant.  Crafty huh?  Just always lurking around, ready to pounce.  Grrrr!

What's really cool though, is that once you recognize and address the dastardly critic you can swiftly kick its butt to the curb...depending on how big it is.  In this case, it's not so big that I can't shrink it down to size.  And on that note, I'm going to open my appointment book and find a slot for formal exercise from now on.  I think I'm going to enjoy my time with me, myself and I (no room for the critic in here!)

Be on the look out for your own critic.  What nagging voices are you giving your power over to?  How is your critic holding you back?