We spend a lot of time on this blog talking about the Harsh Inner Critic, how it developed, and the role it plays in your life. It is important to remember that it is usually not right. You can build skills to find relief from its influence. Your life does not have to be controlled by these painful, critical messages.
You are not going to be able to banish or destroy these messages. However, you can learn to not allow them to dictate your moods or run your life.
Happy anniversary to me. One year ago today, I started publishing a weekly blog. If you had told me last October that I would succeed in this endeavor, I would never have believed you. What a milestone this is for me.
The Beginning
Early in 2014, I decided my website needed to be updated. It had looked the same since it was designed in 2007. The original website was a big deal—few psychotherapists even had websites at that time, so it was a ground breaking experience.
That site held for me a number of memories and represented seven years of my work. It was a beauty. However, seven years is a long time on the internet. It was time to make a change.
An internal safe place is a tool that you can create to help you manage stress and the busyness of life. It is a place in your head where you can retreat to take your attention away from the feelings you are having in the present moment. It is all yours, designed by you to be safe, soothing and calm.
There are two kinds of people when the alarm goes off – those who love mornings, and those who don’t.
People who love to get out of bed wake up refreshed and ready to face the day. They are generally cheerful, happy and positive just because it is morning. They need nothing special and no encouragement to start their day.
On the other hand, there are those self-proclaimed morning haters. The alarm goes off and their first action of the day is to slam their hand down on the snooze button. They return to the realm of sleep as soon as possible and groan when the alarm goes off again.
Pope Francis is traveling the world, working to create peace and change. He just completed a visit to the United States and Cuba as part of his push to bring activism out of the Vatican and into the world arena.
Regardless of your opinion of him, his actions, or his beliefs, there are lessons everyone can learn from him about how to confront your personal issues and bring about change.
