Silence Your Inner Critic

I watched an interesting class hosted by Caroline Donahue on the Inner Critic vs the Creative Self.

You all know what the Inner Critic is. It’s that loud voice that goes off like a car alarm when something unexpected happens to you. It’s there as a preservation mechanism and grew out of the beliefs you developed when you were a young child.

The critic wants you to be safe and keep you out of harm’s way, and it’s very persistent.

The Creative Self is much quieter, but in a way is much more confident than the critic. Because it is so quiet and unassuming, you don’t focus on it. It’s easier to ignore the Creative Self, but it’s the one that makes suggestions and comes up with the good idea.

The iceberg

Caroline Donahue asks you to think of your Creative Self as an iceberg. The Critical Self is the small bit you see above the waterline. It’s the conscious bit of our thoughts and ideas. 

The critic itself lives on the pinnacle of the iceberg. It’s the voice that wants you to achieve perfection and be the best at everything you do.

Donahue says it’s the tiny voice at the top of the iceberg that leads to an unenjoyable writing life and unsustainable creativity.

However, below the waterline is the Creative Self and, like a real iceberg, it’s the largest bit of your brain. But it’s the bit you usually ignore. 

That bit is the subconscious bit of your brain and contains all the creativity. But your Critical Self keeps it submerged in a large ocean, so you rarely get to see it.

Where does the Inner Critic come from?

As mentioned above it’s the voice that appears when you try to do something new or unexpected. It comes from the beliefs you developed between the ages of 4 and 7 and is very hard to ignore or change.

Rather than try, Donahue encourages you to engage with your Inner Critic. If you can listen to it and make it feel valued then you can calm it down. It’s much easier to live with that way.

Remember, she says, you’ll never satisfy your Inner Critic. No matter what you tell it, it will want more.

Did you do a BA in English? Now you need an MA in Creative Writing. Got the MA? Now you need the PhD.

Do you use a certain pen to write your first draft? You need to use a different one. Then you’ll write the best book ever.

You want to write that story? No, this story will make you famous.

Donahue encourages you to re-engage with your Creative Self. She says this is the relationship you need to work on, but it’s not always available. The Creative Self usually emerges when you’re doing something else, for example cooking, knitting or washing-up. 

It’s a well-known anecdote that people get their best ideas in the shower. This is because you’re not thinking about your work in progress, you’re thinking about something else, which gives the inner Creative Self room to breathe and blossom.

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So how can you engage your Creative Self?

Donahue suggests 4 ways:

1

Move your body. If you have a problem you can’t work out, don’t sit and “grind it out” but write the problem down and then do something else. This might be to go for a walk, a run, do some yoga or even the ironing. By moving your conscious brain on to something else, you’ll leave space for your unconscious brain to solve the problem.

2

Play. Think of something you enjoy doing and spend more time doing it. That sounds too simple, I know! If you enjoy singing, drawing, jigsaw puzzles, or model making, spend more time doing it.

If you’re not sure what you enjoy, she suggests journalling about what you used to do as a child and see what comes up. Is there a way of integrating your childhood games into your adult life?

3

Senses. Use things like candles, soft lighting, specialty, essential oils or comfortable clothing to engage all of your senses and feel more stimulated. When you feel comfortable or special or glamourous in your place of writing it will help you feel more creative too.

4

Unconscious gateways. By this, Donahue means using things like tarot and journalling, or even meditation to reach the subconscious part of your brain. Tarot is something I’ve only recently come across as a tool for writing, but Donahue suggests using it as a signpost for the Creative Self to respond to. It’s not a way of predicting the future, but a way of accessing the subconscious.

How can you make your writing more fun?

Caroline Donahue echoes Elizabeth Gilbert and emphasises that your creative life must be a fun life. She encourages you to move away from the idea you’ve got to be disciplined and instead try to make things more fun. 

If it’s fun, you’re less likely to procrastinate. If it’s fun, you’re more likely to write.

She emphasises the importance of replenishing yourself after writing. This is what Joanna Penn calls refilling the creative well. Find something you love and indulge yourself. This will ensure you come back to the editing or a new manuscript with a fresh mind and renewed joy.

Look at your own writing routine. What can you do to make it more fun? When I’m needing a little bit of a lift I have a bottle of children’s Bubbles and when I need to, I’ll blow the bubbles all over my desk. It gives me a quick thrill, makes me feel playful and my office a slightly more fun place.

Conclusion

Donahue concludes that you will never truly conquer your critic, and nor do you want to. You need your critic to keep you balanced. What you want to do is acknowledge it, make it feel valued, then say thank you, but I’m going to write, anyway.

Equally, you need to give your Creative Self the space to grow and bloom. You want to develop that relationship and have fun with it.

She cautions that this is an ongoing process so carry on listening to your critic but balance it out with a lot of fun! 

If this article was useful, you’ll love:

• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/what-stops-you-writing/
• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/writing-routine/
• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/write-the-first-line/