Good-bye, I’ll miss you, you old nagging inner critic who is always waiting to contradict my new ideas. Why do you have such an open-trunk full of “what-ifs” and negative talk and a memory of an elephant for the things that went wrong in the past?
You are not omnipotent or all-knowing. Who are you anyway? Who do you think you are? You don’t have all the answers.
I suppose in a way, you have kept me company over the years. I’ve come to expect you there. This will be new to not have you around anymore.
Will I replace you with positive, encouraging thoughts and words? Or will it just be quiet which is usually the goal of meditation. A soft quieting of the mind.
Where will you go? Will you go off to bug someone else? Or will you die? Maybe your time is just up.
If you have a replacement, I’d like to request that it be a wise, funny, playful voice, who says a lot of things like, “you go girl,” and “wow, impressive!” and “who would’ve thought that you are so creative and have so many interesting things to say and interesting ways of saying them?”
Actually, I will not miss you. Good riddance!
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This was a writing prompt from my writing teacher, Joni B. Cole’s book, Good Naked. I wrote it two months ago and just found it. I’m happy to report that three classes in, my inner critical voice took me seriously and rarely makes an appearance!!!
We are all in this together 