In the beginning of the year, I noticed a critical voice in my head. It wasn’t my inner critic—this voice repeated a phrase a supervisor used to refer to colleagues, indirectly referring to me. It may or may not surprise you that it had been over three years since the event happened. Yet, the thought of that phrase lingered and became louder. After feeling stuck, not good enough, and letting it stop me from moving forward on a few projects, I came up with a creative solution. Through meditation and writing prompts, I decided to rewrite my experience with a different ending. I wrote a story about a fictional character, Hayla, who faced the same situation.
Hayla went above her supervisor’s head and got the result she needed to benefit her career path. The organization’s leader took the time to learn more about Hayla, and by noticing she was an award-winning painter for her painting series called Harmony, she gave her a promotion. In real life, I opted not to speak up about it and instead focused on doing the work required of me, no longer trying to overachieve.
Giving voice to a character who spoke up for herself, challenged the status quo, and achieved the results she deserved somehow healed that internal voice. Thanks to Hayla’s attitude and bravery on the page, I felt inspired to paint a series called Harmony. This post’s image is from that series.
I invite you to consider a negative voice outside the inner critic in your mind that you listen to on repeat. Could you rewrite the events before and after it happened as a fictional story with other characters and scenes? Consider how you would like to have responded, and of course, write how your genuine and authentic expression of your needs was received and understood with the most ease.
Feel free to share your experience here.
If you would like additional support in transforming the inner critic and/or other negative voices you speak to yourself, and expressing yourself creatively and authentically, join us for The Courage Series. It starts on November 3rd, for seven consecutive Mondays.
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