What does your inner critic say to you? Does it whisper sarcastic compliments or does it scream insults?
As a writer, I have both fans and critics. It’s expected and accepted. What many writers deal with, however, is something a bit different. It’s an internal critic who is often ruthless and harsh. Imagine if all of the stories an inner critic deleted from the screen were actually read by someone, we have missed out on a lot.
Everyone has the inner critic though, not just writers. You know the voice. It’s the one that tells you, “You’re not good enough.” Maybe yours says, “No one would miss you if you were gone. Why don’t you kill yourself.”
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It’s a fact that somewhere today, someone is going to take their life. More than one person will do this, sadly. Someone had too much to handle, too many problems, too many critics, life became too much.
Our inner critic can cause us to spiral into a state of self-destruction…
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What does your inner critic say to you? Does it whisper sarcastic compliments or does it scream insults? Our inner critic can guide us to amazing levels of success or it can hinder our progress. Our inner critic can cause us to spiral into a state of self-destruction, cause us to treat others with hatred, and make us miserable.
I will open up and share my inner critic with you.
When I write, I often, though reluctantly, share my own failures, my own mistakes, and sometimes, they are quite embarrassing. I do it in an effort to hopefully help someone else avoid my pitfalls, regardless of how insignificant they may seem.
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You see, my inner critic often tells me how insignificant I am. Maybe it stems from a former supervisor telling me I was worthless and I should kill myself. Maybe it stems from my own mistakes. Either way, I have learned to silence the inner critic, because it can be harsh.
What does your inner critic say? Does it guide you? Does it keep you from doing absolutely stupid things? Maybe you have learned to ignore it.
Some call it a conscious. Some may even call it a guilty conscious. Learning to deal with our own critical selves is important to our success. It may prevent us from making mistakes or it may cause us to miss out on opportunities for greatness.
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I can tell you this much. You are not insignificant. You are not worthless. I don’t care what mistakes you made in the past, you have a future. I am, by nature, an encourager. I spent six years in law enforcement and I learned a little bit about dealing with critics and haters.
Recently, I had to listen to my inner critic. About a month ago I resigned from my full-time job to focus on the side business gone crazy. What I have found is many people ignore the good, positive, self-affirming thoughts they have and give too much attention to the inner critic. I chose to ignore the latter and be realistic, knowing there was much more positive on the other side of my decision.
I had to ignore the inner critic, and a lot of haters.
Since leaving, I have had significantly less stress and my inner critic does not seem near as negative as it used to be. Maybe your inner critic is influenced by those around you. Don’t allow that to continue.
Learning to deal with our own critical selves is important if we are to achieve any level of success.
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The money you may be earning is not worth your misery, and if you have a family, you are costing them a great deal of happiness.
I have spent too much time thinking about my past failures. What I have found to be an effective antidote to that is being generous with my encouraging words. No motives. No angles. Just encouraging.
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Often times we can find ways to turn terrible situations into positive situations. It depends on your tenacity. It depends on what you are willing to tolerate.
For me, I was no longer willing to tolerate negative, and I made my move. Critics still exist, but, I have learned to benefit from the inner critic, and he knows who is boss.
How can you use the inner criticism you have to create positive behavior and actions?
Photo: Pixabay/leroys
You can read more articles by Adam Davis at The Good Men Project here.
Discover more about Adam Davis at www.adamdavis.co.