it always surfaces in healing or therapy with sensitives and creatives: you can be so empathetic with others and so very critical of yourselves.
the inner critic
there’s a strong, harsh and often cruel inner voice that keeps pointing out how imperfect and limited you are. which is the surest way to destroy your confidence and self-esteem. it’s a difficult voice to ignore or silence because it’s loud
when you hear this negative voice inside, especially when it’s loud, it’s good to remember that fundamentally its source, is your vulnerability.
no matter what you are trying to do: getting up earlier, dieting, going to the health club, stopping a bad habit, or just trying to get less negative with yourself, the critic sounds like this:
“how come you are not getting up early enough to get to the health club?
you are a horrible person for not doing this simple thing that’s good for you”.
it would have been easier to silence that negative voice if not for its power and the partial truth it carries.
now, you are wondering: “what is nurit saying? that I shouldn’t do the things that are right for me?” no, that’s not what I am saying.
do nothing
what, then, am I suggesting? i am saying do nothing. just for a while. do nothing, but listen. listen to your internal dialogue.
you might discover more than one critical voice, and they might be in conflict:
- the voice of reason– usually a solid and strong, asking you to do what’s right for you
- another voice (s)- not as loud but still powerful who is in conflict with the voice of reason. both voices are holding you back.
listen and hear
you, creative, empathic and sensitive, know so well how to listen to others. you can really hear what the other person is saying because you are a natural for getting beyond the surface.
you can do it for others. now do it for yourself.
- i’m suggesting that you take some time to listen to your internal voices and give yourself the permission to not do the “disciplined” thing that seems the right thing for you.
- self-reflection is an opportunity to dig deeper into your own psyche, your thoughts and emotions in a healthy way.
once you have observed and noticed, we will continue in the next newsletter to see what can be done with those.