Have you ever finally gotten the courage to create what you want in your life and you are feeling really great about it and then……kaboom……
you start getting plagued by self doubt and limiting beliefs?
Perhaps you start thinking things like: “Why did I ever think that I could finish this? Who am I to do this? I don’t know what I am doing. I am lost. I don’t have what it takes to do this”.
Welcome to the world of your self sabotaging, spirit sucking inner critic. Our inner critic saps us of our motivation and makes us feel as though our actions are futile and because it causes us anxiety, our natural inclination is to avoid the very thing that we need to do to move forward. It can paralyze us, cause us to avoid through procrastination or addictive behaviors or withdraw.
One of the ways that my inner critic used to show up was in the middle of an art project. I would be going along happily and then I would get stuck. I would think to myself “I am totally screwing this up. I don’t like the way that this is coming out. Maybe I should just start over. Why did I think that I could do this anyway? Argggghhhhh”
It seemed to happen every time!
Recognizing this voice helped. I learned to say to myself, “Marianne, just walk away and when you come back, look at the whole picture-the bird’s eye view and then trust your gut -your divine inner wisdom-and then go with it”.
We always have a choice regarding the way we see things and that choice dictates not only the way we feel, but what we ultimately create in our lives.
Life is like art. It is a creative process and we are the co creators of our life. We can choose to focus on our inner critic that would have us playing small and safe or we can choose to listen to our divine inner wisdom that is connected to universal wisdom-a source that is creative beyond our imagination.
Whatever we choose to focus on will expand in our life.
The next time that your inner critic rears its ugly head, call it out. Identify it. Some of my clients give it a name or see it as an animal or some kind of metaphor that they can immediately identify with.
Tell it that you know it is there but you won’t let it stop you from owning your magnificence.
Take a few deep breaths and check in with your divine inner wisdom that is connected to your heart and soul and infinite wisdom. This is the place where you feel grounded and safe and expansive and sure. Make decisions from that place.
This should feel good and expansive instead of sabotaging and limiting.
Your inner critics will never fully go away. Every time you reach and stretch and grow they may show up in some form.
The trick is to focus on what is possible, trust your inner wisdom, believe in yourself and your dream and keep moving forward.
In abundance,
