Whack! The little girl smacked her tiny rainbow umbrella down on the restaurant’s marble table with an unexpectedly loud crack. No one was hurt; nothing was damaged–or even knocked over–but her eyes widened in horror.
“But I did it on purpose!” A storm of tears followed and she hid her face against her mother. I wanted put an arm around her and say, “We’ve all done things on purpose. I’ve felt exactly the same way. And so did St. Peter.”
When we see the shocking results of something we’ve done “on purpose” we’re dismayed. Sometimes we hurt someone we love and that makes it even worse. But sometimes a “small” failure horrifies us needlessly. We send ourselves off into a spiral of critique and hurt ourselves most.
This morning, I’m trying to start work on the umpteenth revision of a particularly stubborn work-in-progress. Instead of an umbrella beating a marble table, I’m beating up on myself. The familiar inner critic’s comments show up right away: I made this mess of a draft, I did it to myself, it’s my own fault.
A classic case of I-failed-and-I-did-it-to-myself.
I only know one remedy. Go somewhere private–like the middle of the forest–and confess my limited-ness out loud:
I can’t do this by myself. I need help. I tried and I failed. Forgive me for my shortcomings. Forgive me for my ludicrous resentment of the shortcomings of others. Let me hide my face for a while.
It always surprises me. As soon as I stop making myself the center of the universe, I can show my face again. Relief! I’m not the boss. I can start again with a lighter heart.
It’s so deceptively simple and it saves so much heartbreak.
What helps you when the critical voices threaten to shut you down?
Resources:
Carolyn Kaufman’s excellent blog posts:
Defeating Your Inner Critic Part 1
Defeating Your Inner Critic Part 2
Brené Brown’s TED talk on shame and vulnerability is a good intro to her work on living a whole-hearted life.
An inspiring conversation about courage with Brené Brown and Oprah Winfrey
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