Inner Critic
Inner Critic (IC)~You can do better, Donna.
You know and so do I.
I don’t want to hear excuses.
I just want to see results.
My dear Inner Critic, I know you mean well,
but I beg to differ with you. I
am not perfect, even though you want me to be.
I just can’t. No, I just WON’T be perfect!
And no amount of haranguing will make it so.
IC~Look, all you need to do is work
harder and longer.
More effort that’s what you need.
It won’t matter, don’t you see,
because I am flawed. I do try
my best, but in the end I will make mistakes.
I will fall face down many times over. But I WILL pick myself up.
IC~But why fall?
Do you want to get hurt, scraped, embarrassed?
Don’t you understand, I am trying to protect you from this.
I know you are. You are, after all, part of me.
And you mean well. But no, I do not fear the fall,
because I know it will happen. And when it does,
I will learn to fly again, and fall, and fly, and…..
It is the inevitable cycle.
IC~ARE YOU CRAZY?!!
What is wrong with you?!
That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard….
Maybe so, but it is my sacred life.
And as part of me, you will just have to accept it.
No more shouting. No more belittling or bemoaning.
Understand this-I AM STRONG. I am enough.
And I am flourishing just fine the way I am at the moment.
Now come on, let’s go have some fun!
IC~OK, but I still think…….
No thinking my dear Inner Critic,
and no talking. Let’s just be for now….
In this moment….time to enjoy life!
© Donna Donabella 2016
__________________________________________________________
I read a prompt a while ago where they asked us to have a conversation with our Inner Critic. I have had a long-standing Love-Hate relationship with that part of me, with me losing more times than I care to count. So I thought it was about time we had it out….after all this Inner Critic was holding me back and I was letting it.
As a reforming perfectionist, I am dedicating this poem to all of us who have been caught in Perfections trap. And most especially, I dedicate this to my lovely niece, Natalie on her 13th birthday, today! Like her Aunt Donna, she is a perfectionist. A wonderful goal to to try to reach, perfection, as long as we don’t let it hold us down and make us feel bad about ourselves, as I have done. So here’s to you my dear niece! I wish for you the means for working with your Inner Critic, and not letting it get the best of you. Oh and she is a most gifted and creative poet as well!
I am joining in with Poets United for their weekly poetry link up for poets who blog, and Sanaa@A Dash of Sunny for her Prompt Nights every Friday. This week’s theme is ‘The Hidden Realm’, that safe haven I find inside as I heal and discover my true self.
I am using pictures of Columbines, and faded Columbine petals that represent Anxious, and Resolved To Win, in the Language of Flowers!
__________________________________________________________
I leave you with a few additional words about Inner Critics. I welcome you to download the photo and share it.
All other photos and original content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Living From Happiness, 2014-2016. Any reprints or use of other photos or content is by permission only.
Whistles!! ❤❤ Gosh this is absolutely amazing Donna 😀 you have unlocked perhaps the most crucial element which lies hidden in us all. Especially adore “Maybe so, but it is my sacred life and as part of me, you will just have to accept it.” Here I would like to add that you’re a diamond; and a diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfection 🙂 Beautifully penned. Thank you so much for participating at Prompt Nights and for your constant love and support ❤❤
Lots of love,
Sanaa
Oh Sanaa, you are always so generous in your praise…thank you for your beautiful words….I love being a flawed diamond!
You’re most welcome 🙂
Well done! And what a lucky niece to have an aunt show her the way!
So glad you liked it Robin….and I am the lucky one for having 5 beautiful, amazing nieces!
You only know the true meaning of success if you have failed before and can now feel the difference. Well done indeed.
Thanks Robin! We do learn so much more from our falls don’t we!
Sometimes Yes you just gotta put your put down to thatvinner critic and have Your way
Good Sunday Donna
Much love…
It does us good to put our IC in its place!
ha, sometimes, only once in a while perhaps the IC needs some snubbing….how lovely!
He does, doesn’t he….especially when he is over protective and stifles my creativity!
Aah… I posted a conversation too! It is the inner voice that both guides and restrains…you’re right we have to control it.
So happy you enjoyed my inner conversation! I look forward to reading your conversation too!
I’m so glad you won that debate!
Me too! 😀
It is most satisfying to taste success when one may have seen adverse situations before
Hank
Indeed it is Hank!
Oh this is very cool. Great conversation, and great advice…….embrace imperfection, Being is Enough. I love it.
Thanks so much Sherry….it was a great conversation for me too! One I think all creatives should have….
Wow–just loved this–my IC is alive and strong these days–so it was great to read this this morning!!
I am so pleased Audrey that you loved this….and hope you grab your IC by the tail!
Ouch.
I have (too often) listened to things from my inner critic which would have had me walking away from anyone else.
Well done you.
Thanks Soosie…it is about time I had this important conversation….and it had a wonderful outcome! My niece said she loved it too!
Lady, we don’t do things unless they feel perfect… why we go forward , only in retrospect, we find differently. But, we are perfect in our creativity as it happens. I have found none of your inspiration lacking, other than pure art.
ZQ
Wise words my friend…we do move forward with dreams of perfection….and such high praise from you, thank you! I adore your words, ‘But, we are perfect in our creativity as it happens’….that fills me with joy!
What a wonderful outlook on a conversation that so many of us have or need to have with our IC. Delightful write!
Thanks so much!
Oh, wonderful! I just said in one of my haiku: just be in the moment! Yes! And we like birds, they also fall before flying high….
Yes ‘be in the moment’…that is the perfect mindset!
Donna, I came expecting to find your usual beautiful photos and accompanying verse. But, instead find this. Started grinning and clapping, laughing out loud. Love it. But, then, here in the comments, you say that the voice of your IC is male. That could be a problem, because you are female. It might be best to find him a female partner. One that could teach him that the feminine is the very essence of creation, not to be controlled by imposed rules of perfection. Birth is a messy business, filled with pain and some amount of fear, but also carrying wonderful surprises and joys untold. Gifts, I might add, that we freely share with our male companions, once they understand that being human is being perfectly imperfect. Thanks for this one, it made my day,
Elizabeth
Oh Elizabeth how wonderful that it made your day…..and I found it interesting that my IC is sometimes male…especially when trying to exert control. I think it may explain other issues I had in my life! Loved your comment.
I really enjoyed this. Especially your own voice in response to the inner critic. It felt so human and approachable.
Thanks Matthew…that makes me happy!
It’s a good day when our inner critic can’t get a word in edgewise! (Mine just asked me what the heck “edgewise’ means.)
Mine wants to talk to yours….
Yes, some days that inner critic just needs a swift kick in the behind so we can just BE 🙂
Exactly….perfect advice!
“I am enough.” Wonderful debate between you and inner critic. I’m siding with you.
Thanks Debi…I love the support!
I loved the light heartedness dancing between what could have been a painful dialogue – seems like role reversal and IC became the child having to learn to play –
p.s. heart meltingly soft pastel Columbines <3
You, my friend, are always so astute and can read me quite easily. My IC has been in control for far too long and needed a good dressing down. I just couldn’t be too harsh so I was happy that this way worked for me and IC. Oh the columbines of spring do just melt my heart too!
Dear Great Aunt Donna the Great as in wonderful! You have given your niece the insight into your truth and wisdom, it is a precious gift. I am not a perfectionist and wish I could be, I sat next to my friend at a card making event, she made two perfect cards I made 20… but some of mine said merry ristmas!! We both laughed and wished we could be more like the other!
Wren x
You always make me laugh Wren….I agree, we each need to reach a balance and just be who we are! My niece did like the poem and I was so happy for that.
No self is harder on us than the self that lives in us. And like your poem suggests, we must not let that self’s need for perfection rule who we are (especially if said self defines perfection as a thing nearly inhuman). It is human to make mistakes and learn from them. It is human–and very wise–to remember that we are not just enough, but that we are and that is glorious. ♥
Oh Magaly you have gladdened my heart with your ‘perfect’ comment…..such wise words that mean so much to me!
What a delightful piece!
So glad you enjoyed it Annell! Thanks…
The columbines are absolutely beautiful!
I really enjoyed the inner dialogue here – I’m sure many of us can relate.
Thanks so much Kerry! Columbines are such a perfect flower!
I love the idea of externalizing your inner critic. Years ago, a friend helped me to get some control over mine by telling me “If you ever succeed in being as perfect as you want to be, you won’t have any friends because you’ll be insufferable!” It turns out that most of us want relationships with humans not with paragons of perfection that always leave us feeling inadequate. It was a very refreshing and freeing perspective. 🙂
What a wise friend you have Jean! It is freeing not t grasp so tightly to perfection.
Oopsy Daisy this is awesome! I wish I had read it before I published my anniversary post! haha Inner critic in me is running in rounds dazed and angry at me since I could have done better.. lol Awesome writing dear.
Mind if I include the link to your post in my post?
Not at all…let me know when you publish it as I would love to read it!
http://mypetridish.com/blog/365-days-of-blogging-journey-far/
I added it to my blogging journey post I made last week. 🙂 Thanks darling. Have a wonderful time.
You are most welcome!
So glad you enjoyed the poem!
I love the idea of a sacred life is one that is comfortable with its own mistakes
Me too Rommy…it is a wonderful place to be!
This is a truly wonderful dialogue – one we all need to undertake at times when we are being critical of ourselves. I love the strength with which you claim yourself, so we’ll done 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words of praise…it means a lot!