The inner critic
As bloggers, we all share a familiar companion. Someone who’s been there from the very beginning. Someone we’d happily kick out the door if we could.
The inner critic.
This not-so-jolly-good fellow came up in a discussion about my previous post. In a reply, I wrote:
...it’s so easy to let the inner critic run the show. Maybe the trick isn’t to beat it or silence it, but just to notice that it’s there... and accept that it probably always will be. That’s alright, we just don’t have to believe everything it says.
I really think that’s true. The inner critic will keep following us like a shadow. Ask any author, musician, painter, poet, or other creative soul — they’ll tell you the same.
It’ll be there no matter what. And since we can’t really get rid of it, we might as well accept it. Not as a sign of defeat, and not by pretending it’s some kind of muse. Just noticing it’s there, and letting it be.
Like any dog owner will tell you when their overexcited four-legged friend runs up to greet you:
Just ignore him and he’ll calm down.