My hypercritical inner critic has been working overtime lately. Although I have been able to write, it has been difficult in getting it past the critic. My inner critic demands perfection and does not allow any flaws. As a result I have been running in circles around the critic trying to please him. It is exhausting and feels like everything I do is flawed. I ask myself: How come other people can do such amazing things and I can’t? My critic is quick to answer: They are also flawed, and then points out all the flaws. Now this is getting ridiculous and absurd. If everyone is flawed and what they do is such a failure, how can we have the wonderful things and experiences that are so much fun?
Then I remembered a quote by George Bernard Shaw: “When I was a young man I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. I didn’t want to be a failure, so I did ten times more work.”
So this is how great people do great things, I thought to myself. No wonder not much is coming from me. I am behind in doing things, both the failures that are nine out of ten and the success that is one out of ten. It takes practice and perseverance to get to the tenth.
Now when the critic starts I thank him and point out to him that this is what is needed to get to the good stuff. If a great writer like George Bernard Shaw had these odds and kept on going, why wouldn’t you and I?
As an underearner we are usually hard on ourselves and good at putting ourselves down. So, what I am learning from this is that I have to keep going. The Noble laurite who became a wealthy man used this method and I why shouldn’t I? It is by keep on doing and learning that I can live a life of abundance.
Love and peace,
ElinAnna