I was making almost all the mistakes you wrote, so thank you for help.

All the best,
Michal Matovcik

And that inner critic stuff you talk about ties in neatly with what Martha Beck calls the “generalized other.” I think you’ll love Martha’s book, Finding Your Own North Star – it’s one of my all-time favorites and the Bottom-line on Finding Your Own North Star has had a great reception at the Bottom-line Bookclub.

I am not absolutely convinced by the idea that there is an entire, fully-formed inner self that has nothing to do with the social world and the self we have learned there; in my view the two are intricately entwined and can’t really be said to exist independently. However, I do think it’s a useful metaphor to concentrate on to help center and quiet the mind and tune out some of the noise (both internal and external).

One of the most destructive forms of this noise, for me, is the inner critic that imagines that we are constantly being judged by others around us. I find this especially crippling when someone I hold in high regard as an artist is around, and this certainly strikes me as a behaviour that has its roots in the social world – like other social animals, we are wired to be constantly evaluating our place in the hierarchy of the pack or tribe.

If the metaphor of an inner, inherently creative self can help me find a space away from that habitual and pointless self-doubt, I’m all for it!