When your inner critic prevents you from forming relationships and pursuing opportunities, it’s time to take control
I once spent a huge amount of money to bash a cushion with a baseball bat in a B&B overlooking a golf course in Sussex. Before the bashing, we were invited to sit on the floor with crayons and a giant piece of paper.
We were then asked to write out all the awful things we said to ourselves. You know, the kind of inner sweet talk that goes: you’re fat, ugly, boring, nobody will ever love you, you’re lazy and a failure… and your friends hate you. Soon every bit of the paper was covered with purple crayon.
It was the first time I’d realised that I was living with a vicious bully – me.
We were then encouraged to attack the paper with the baseball bat until all the words were obliterated. While I will never forget the black comedy of 25 adults committing violence on pieces of paper, it didn’t rid me of my inner tormentor.