This week’s focus:
What’s the critical voice saying to you now?
Do you have a voice in your head that seems to be critical of you a lot of the time? “What are you taking that on for? You know you can’t cope with more on your plate!” “What are you doing? You know you suck at selling!” And so it goes on…
Well, you shouldn’t feel alone. Most of us have a ‘schizophrenic friend’ that self-righteously tells us what we can’t do. But what should we do about him or her? It’s not like we can drop them off at the local mental hospital, right!
The first thing is to acknowledge that the voice is there (and that it belongs to you). The second thing is to realize that we are just warning ourselves that we have a challenge on our hands. It’s what we do with this warning that counts.
If we keep listening to the voice, well, that’s the end of it – in a world of fight or flight, we flee.
More appropriately, we should normally silence that voice (just ignore it) AND trust ourselves. After all, as Tim Gallwey says, Self 1 (the critical voice) is just a voice, whilst Self 2 (the doer) seldom lets us down when we trust it.
So, try it: when you hear your critical voice, don’t give in to it: acknowledge it as being a warning (say “thank you” if you like), then silence or ignore it, and trust yourself as you do what is required.
And remember: every time you do this, you strengthen the ‘muscle’; every time you listen to your voice, you strengthen that one!
Monday Morning Perspective: “It is the purpose of the Inner Game to increase the frequency and duration of these moments, quieting the mind by degrees and realizing thereby a continual expansion in our capacity to learn and perform.” – W. Timothy Gallwey
Kind regards,
Lauron
