Telling My Inner Critic to Shut Up So I Could Start Writing
We all have an inner critic.
That nagging voice that makes us second-guess ourselves. The one that plants thoughts like “you’re not good enough” or “no one will care what you have to say.”
For me, my inner critic often reared its head when I considered sharing my writing publicly.
What if I’m not a strong enough writer? What if people think my work is silly or unimportant?
The critics in my head paralyzed me from putting my work out into the world. I would eagerly write in private, but kept my words tucked away in drawers, too anxious to let others read them.
That changed earlier this year when I finally started my writing journey on Medium. I told myself: this is just an experiment.
My goal was to write consistently for one month and see how my skills developed. I wouldn’t worry about likes or popularity. This was about growth.
My first story was painfully awkward.
I rambled about fitness tips — a topic I knew little about. My writing lacked focus and voice. But that was okay. Completing and publishing that story, no matter how messy, gave me a small sense of accomplishment.
