Shhhh…. The Lizard is sleeping.
If the only thing that stood between you and your dream was negative energy, would you walk away? The Lizard is the inner critic in all of us. He is always there and sometimes he can be really loud, and other time he will be quiet in the background. I find I have the best time when he is sleeping.
When it comes to creative students, we all have physical obstacles we need to overcome, but we don’t always remember the inner obstacle, the inner critic. It is easy to see the critic as a slimy lizard (but of course he can take any form), that takes away our confidence in our work or dreams. I feel as though many people hold back on their journey because of that lizard. We need to look pass the fear of rejection, the fear of being bad at what we love, and then move forward with our creative journey.
What is the worst that can happen when we don’t listen to the lizard? We become ourselves. We develop who we want to be and when the time comes, we share that person with the world. It’s okay to listen and hear input from the lizard, and I believe that will help mold the person you want to be. It is when the lizard becomes the main voice or one of the louder voices, is when it needs to be shut off.
How do you shut the lizard down? Well, lizards are cold blooded animals that fear light, so I would use fire to keep him away. It’s important to find your own flame to hold onto when it gets dark and the lizard comes out. So you need to find something or someone that motivates you to keep going. Whether it is a song, a quote, or a person in your life, keep that flame close.
When the lizard gets loud, I listen. I want to see the negative side and I want to understand it. I want to see where the energy is coming from and I want to learn from the behaviors of the way my mind works. But I will admit, sometimes if I let it get too loud. I try to change the behaviors and make them positive. I want to quiet the lizard but I want to hear what he has to say. I don’t want to let him get to me, but to make friends with the lizard.
This is easier said than done. It will be difficult to get through. It won’t be easy. The journey will be difficult and things will come and try to block you, but it’s up to you to push through.
And hey, Dorothy shut the wicked witch down (who was her lizard), and made it through the field of poppies to the Emerald City. You can tell the lizard to shush and make it to the other side too.
