Meet the Inner Critic

Have you ever experienced working on something you deem marvelous, something that you think will change the world?

If yes, have you also experienced hearing this voice inside your mind?

 "Your work sucks. It won't change the world. It's not even marvelous"

I've experienced this numerous times. The voice makes itself known when I'm about to work on a project or when I'm thinking of a project to start. It's the voice that dissuades me of pursuing something meaningful and worthwhile. It's the pestering voice that disturbs me when I'm trying to focus on my work.

Over the years, I have come to label this terrifying voice as the "Inner Critic". An invisible entity that appears when I don't need to appear.

The Inner Critic is hard to ignore. It's very loud and It demands attention. And I wondered if I would ever get rid of it.

Now, I don't think I ever would.

You see, I have come to realize that  the Inner Critic will always be with me. It's inside. It's a part of me.
It's an embodiment of my perfectionism, screaming nothing but the best. It means well, even though it can be cruel. If the Inner Critic is a part of us, we cannot eliminate it.

It's easy to hate our antagonists, and it's difficult to appreciate them.

For a long time, I have hated my Inner Critic. Hated it with such passion. Now? I don't hate it as much before. I just allow it to rant in my head.

Why? Because the Inner Critic is simply doing it's job.

Would you stop a writer from writing novels? Would you stop a teacher from teaching students?

Of course not. They are simply fulfilling their jobs.

We can allow the Inner Critic to be itself, and at the same time,  learn to listen and tone down it's volume.

The Inner Critic is, afterall, a voice, screaming and raging with baseless claims.

So let it do it's job, and simply do yours.