I gave my inner critical voice a name* and it’s made such a difference. I thought about her personality and what she would look like. For me, she’s an older nosy-neighbour type who always thinks she knows best. I chose a name for her that isn’t a name that I have encountered very often in my life, to avoid associating her with any real person. Now when I hear her voice telling me that I’m making a poor choice, I say, “Shut up, Judith,” and listen to my own creative self.
I See Her Now
It’s so helpful to personify that critical voice that tells me I’m not good enough. I notice her now when she starts to dominate my thoughts and I see her for what she is. Before, Judith used to easily sneak in and make decisions and stop me from trying new things. Now, I often see her coming.
It Gives Me Courage
It takes a lot of courage to try new things, especially creative things. There are external critics who attack my attempts but I find that it’s my internal critic that often stops projects before they ever get off the ground. (Judith prefers the blank canvas and the blank page.) I recognize that my inner critic is trying to protect me from looking foolish by doing the creative stuff. But I’m prepared to move on, and try, and fail, and maybe succeed. I feel that Judith will not be happy about this, but so be it.
*The idea for naming my inner censor comes from Julia Cameron’s, It’s Never Too Late To Begin Again (p. 10 – 13). Click here for a link.
Encouragement to be creative, even though you will look foolish and not be understood by many others, is from Ethan Hawke’s Ted Talk.
Retired, and now what? 
I’ve got that inner critic too and now you’ve got me thinking about naming her 🤨
Every once in a while though an inner cheerleader makes an appearance and that’s kind of nice.
Lydia
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