The Art of Dramatic Living

Tonight is opening night for Picasso at the Lapin Agile and I thought I would calm my nerves by putting this collection together for you and for me.

I believe creative audacity is a lifelong journey that begins with our relationship to ourselves. We have to give ourslves permission to create before we can begin. The permission granted can only come from within and the internal gatekeeper is the inner critic.

How much easier would creating and performing be if our inner critic became our ally – or just kept her mouth shut for awhile?

My inner critic doesn’t have a name yet like some you will meet in the following stories, but whatever her name is – she uses some heavy ammo and she has spot on aim. Some of her best shots focus on my body:

You’re fat.
You’re too old.
You have bad hair.

or she can get me with comparisons:

What’s-her-face already did that and she did it better than you could ever do it.
You’ll never be as good as…
She could play this role so much better than you.

or she’ll try to convince me she’s on my side:

You’ve been working hard all day. Why don’t you just watch some TV and relax?
Really, dear, you’ve done enough. Take a break.
Do it tomorrow. Have a drink.

I hope some of these articles and stories will help you recoginze the clever strategies and ploys of your inner critic and equip you with some tools to overcome the negative little nag. (Hmmm. I think I’ll call her Nellie!) I may not be able to shut Nellie up, but I can certainly decide not to listen.

Conversations with Cordelia

Women in Transition: 4 Steps to turn your inner critic into your coach

Invite the Inner Critic to Leave

Say Hello to Your Inner Critic and Write Faster

Making Friends with My Inner Critic

If you have an Inner Critic resource, let me know. I’ll be happy to add it.

Look, Nellie, the audience is coming tonight and there’s no getting out of this. So shut up and help me get my costume on. And watch out, baby, because Germaine is making her entrance NOW!