The Surprising Benefits of Listening to Your Inner Critic
Throughout my twenties, I lived with a constant companion: my inner critic. It seemed like wherever I went, she was there too. Whether I was talking to someone or seeking solace, she was always lurking in the back of my mind, telling me that I was going to fail, that I wasn’t smart enough, that I wasn’t good enough. It was like having a demonic voice in my head, and it made me feel like I was always one step away from disaster.
However, after a year of therapy, I began to see things differently. I realized that while the inner critic could be incredibly destructive, it could also have a purpose. In fact, it was my inner critic that had driven me to become the ambitious, driven, and motivated person that I was. Without that voice telling me that I wasn’t good enough, I might never have pushed myself as hard as I did.
When I think back to dinner parties or conversations with friends and family, I remember how we used to discuss our positive and negative traits. My positive traits were always the same: I was ambitious, driven, and motivated. And it was only after years of living with my inner critic that I realized that these qualities were actually the result of that critical voice in my head.
