Continuing on the theme of “Unleashing Your Creative Mind Through Journal Writing” write a letter to your inner critic, that voice that whispers to you when you think about wanting to do something creative or different. Think about when you heard the voice before and what it said to you. Talk back to it the form of a letter or a dialogue between you and the critic.

Oh. That voice. I am lucky that the voice of my inner critic today is much less harsh than just five years ago. When I talk to clients about their inner voice/mental critic, I usually tell them that I used to have a combo of Hitler/Mao/Stalin living inside my head. Not so today though.

So. A letter. To my mental critic. Ok.
Here goes:

Hi there.

You know. I kind of like you nowadays. I used to really really dislike you, because you made me feel soooo bad about myself. Now, you’re more polite than before, and have a much nicer tone. I thank you for that change. It’s done wonders with my self-esteem.

Sometimes you do have a point, dear mental critic, but honestly, quite often you don’t. It’s like you are more like the echo of my Ego speaking, stuck in the ways of my personality, insisting I stick to the limits you put upon me, and don’t you dare venture outside those boundaries, dear self… 

But I do. Sometimes. Venture outside the boundaries placed there by you, Mental Critic. I actually pay so much less attention to you today than ever before. And perhaps that’s why you’ve actually changed your language of communication from being predominantly verbal to being much more physical, something which I noticed quite recently. 

In a sense that just makes it more interesting though, since I am a very verbal person, and much less of a physical person. But it’s good for me that you’ve changed your form of communication, because I am on a journey of discovery of me, all of me, all parts of me, and most definitely the physical part of me is a huge part of that. 

Anyway. Sometimes you might be making a valid point, and sometimes you’re just trying to wield your power over me, and the challenge for me is to be able to tell the difference. The easiest way for me to discern whether or not your message can be in service to me or not, is to ask myself just that: Is this serving me right now? 

That has two effects for me. First it can actually help me escape from underneath your spell, I become not only the person experiencing your communication, but I also become an observer of said conversation. And secondly, it opens up for a choice, a neutral choice, providing me with an opportunity to actively chose my next action, with less of a story attached to it. That question ”Is this serving me?” has probably been the most helpful prompt I’ve been able to give myself over these past 4-5 years or so. 

Perhaps you, Mental Critic, should start to ask yourself that very same question once in a while?

Kind regards,
Helena

I just love this:
Here’s an assignment that when I first read it, it really didn’t tickle me in any way… but once I started, I was really happy I did. And in a sense, isn’t that perhaps the perfect illustration to what the assignment centered around?