I am working with a life coach and through a conversation with him, I recently learned that I am a self-critical person. I had never thought about what I say to myself on a daily basis and how it has changed me over the years. Once I paid attention, the soundtrack sounded a lot like this:

“You’re not doing enough; you’re not meant to be happy; you will never fit in; you’re not required…You’re not good enough”.

Don’t get me wrong. I was living a good life and so this confession will probably shock most of my friends as I share this. I rarely showed darkness or a feeling of void in my interactions. This feeling led to wanting to do more and more and to some it appeared as a personality trait of “one-upmanship”. Perhaps, somewhere deep down, a very fearful part of me believed all these words to be true. Continue reading →