Align with Your Inner Champion
bring the love!
How can you stay in touch with your inner champion?Â
We are quite familiar with our inner critic. But we also have an inner champion who can help us past the speed bumps in our creative lives. You may hear this as an encouraging voice in your head. A kind voice. It’s the part of us that knows we must try, and it gives us the courage to risk creative challenges. This reassuring side of us is usually drowned out by the inner critic. But our inner champion is always eager to shower us with support.
Often when I am struggling with a problem, I use reflective writing and jot it down in a paragraph or two. Then I ask my inner champion for advice. This may sound odd, but turning the pen over always yields wisdom I would not have accessed through thinking. This has been helpful in life and for my writing. Liz Glibert’s version of this is her Letters from Love.
Who is this part of you? You may already have seen glimpses of your inner champion. Let's get to know this encouraging force so you can access it anytime.
INVITATIONÂ
Use reflective writing to invite a connection to your inner champion. Have fun discovering more about this part of you that knows you can do it. Use these questions to get to know your inner champion:Â
What encouraging words or phrases does your inner champion have for you?Â
What is your inner champion’s name?
What does your inner champion look like?Â
What does your inner champion love about you?Â
What does an ongoing relationship with your inner ally look like?
Turn the pen over and ask your inner champion what your artist needs now.Â
Affirmation: Your inner champion is always there for you.Â
In the comments: What surprised you in this process?Â
I named my Inner Champion "Allie" because she is an ally. (Thanks Cynthia for using that word to give me a prompt!) She's more like a cheerleader than Tara Mohr's inner mentor. She's the Nike girl, telling me to Just. Do. It. You've got this. For me it's all about permission, and she is the permission-giver and encourager-in chief.
I haven't done the exercise yet, but I had a recent experience of acknowledging that I AM a writer, and thus a creator. And that I AM an editor, and therefore a judge. That freed me from the Inner Critic criticizing me for being judgmental (for now!). It was an epiphany of sitting in my own power and strength. I'll try to write again when I actually do the exercise.