Inner Critic Investigation, Day 6

Questions asked of the inner critic, archive and background:
Day 1. What’s your story?
Day 2. What are you trying to protect me from?
Day 3. What do you treasure?
Day 4. What should I be doing instead of working?
Day 5. What makes you [the inner critic] happy?

In today’s question, it’s terrifying how easily the answers came.

Day 6. What’s the worst thing you [the inner critic] have ever done?

I’ve made you settle for things and remain in situations when you were unhappy, unsatisfied, and thought you deserved better.

I made you let people string you along, whether that meant continuing to work for the guy you knew wasn’t going to pay you, or waiting on the editor who had obviously ghosted you after promises and unanswered emails.

I made you wait for months before demanding answers from another editor who strung you along before admitting their operation was going bust and they weren’t going to print your book. I’d also made you stick with them in the first place, despite their poor communication and long wait times, instead of letting you look for a different market (because it’s a miracle anyone at all wanted your work, you’d be a fool to look for anyone better).

And I also made you stick with that nightmare of a gym trainer who had no idea how to work with you and gave you all the wrong advice, even after you’ve injured your back in her program.

Because when things don’t work out for you, it’s only ever your fault. You don’t deserve better!