quieting the bully

Leah, over at Creative Every Day has been writing some very inspiring posts about this month's theme, Body. This one really struck me today: How to be gentle with your body and your art.

In her post about being gentle to your body Leah talks about her inner "drill sergeant" that barks orders about everything from her body to her artwork. I certainly have one of those. My inner "drill sergeant" or "bully" barks orders to me about success, freedom, health, parenting and following my dreams of being an artist and what that means (some days it means one thing and other days completely different). These orders often leave me feeling confused, unfocused and like a failure. Because I am a Jill-of-all-trades it makes it that much harder to become a master of any of them. Although my inner "bully" demands that I be. I tend to push forward in many areas of my life all at once and then am left feeling sad, angry and unhappy because I am unable to meet all those goals all the time. I want to grow and learn and I also want to just be and enjoy the small wonders in life. My desire to grow and learn ends up bulling my gentler needs for serenity and living in the moment. Leah goes on to say how she has found a gentler approach to her body and creativity and offer suggestions on how we can all do so. Taken from her post:

So how can you take a more gentle approach to your art, your body and life in general?

• Give yourself permission to do it imperfectly
• Check in with yourself, notice what you your spirit is craving.
• Have a dialogue with your inner drill sergeant (aka your inner critic)
• Take your to-do list down a notch and simplify what you plan to do. Make it doable.
• Celebrate your accomplishments. Make an already done list!
• List the things you're grateful for.
• Treat yourself.
• Notice what delights you and add more of those experiences to your life.
• Play with being gentle as an experiment, see what happens.

The list goes on. What would you add to it?

I have done many of these suggestions since I began my path for being a more peaceful being yet, I struggle often. It was amazing to read on her blog comments that so many other creative people comment that they feel the same way. They too had an inner "drill sergeant" that disrupts there lives and stifles creativity. It’s hopeful to hear that I'm not alone and I too can learn quite my inner bully and enjoy a more gentle life where I can accomplish my dreams and be kinder to myself in the process.

Wow, thanks so much for your post, your honesty and openness, Leah.