Befriending Your Inner-Critic

What Does Your Inner-Critic Look Like?

Here is my inner-critic. It is a small wound up brown heart wrapped up so tightly with string and fits in the palm of my hand. It has eyeballs on all sides. It is watching everything. It also has toothpicks sticking out of it and pokes at me as a reminder when I don’t feel safe. It is housed in a black box that refuses to close. My inner-critic, which I created as an art project sits above my shoulder on a counter by my desk. I actually find it adorable when I look at it. Of course, when this part is screaming at me it is not so cute, but truly I have found this part wants to protect me. Having made a visual representation of my inner-critic has allowed me to get to know it, understand it, and even befriend it.

What does your inner-critic look like? How big is it? Is there a specific place it resides in your body? What shape is it? How dense is it? Does it have a temperature or a texture? If you could create a character of your inner-critic who would it be? I encourage you take some time to see who your inner-critic is and what the role it plays for you. Sometimes it is hard to get curious about parts of us that can be harsh, but what if you listened more closely to this part of you and understand where it comes from and what it needs.

I know it might feel strange to talk with you inner-critic with curiosity, but you might be surprised by what you learn if you open yourself up to listen.