Hello, dear critic.

The world needs another middle-class, white-girl, #digitalnomad blog like I need another hole in my head. At least that is what my inner critic says to me.

On the other hand, Howard Thurman’s words also ring through my being:

And I’m still motivated and able to lean into saying yes. Yes, to what intrigues me. Yes, to what feels like a learning edge and could offer something new to my life.

So, f*** it. F*** my critic.

Yep, my inclination is to react to my inner critic with a harsh rebuke and shut it down. Even tell it to f*** off. But, dismissal my critic isn’t fair or helpful. And, the critic responds with the tension that is mounting in my jaw as I write this and holding my breath. Let me try again.

Hello, dear critic. What are you trying to tell me?

I think she is trying to keep me safe. Safe from outside criticism, safe from internet trolls, safe from negative judgement of people I thought I was friendly with. Safe from punches to my ego that can happen when putting myself out there.

I said “yes” to the idea of the blog almost 2 months ago. Two weeks ago, I launched it, posting past writing on it…and only telling one person. What am I waiting for?

Hello, dear critic. Thank you for trying to keep me safe.

I hear you. I could get hurt. I could lose connection. I promise to check in with you before I post. Check if you see something important that could create harm that my fingers writing missed. And thank you, dear critic, for being willing to step back, allow room to breathe, trust me enough to see what happens. Let’s see what happens, together.

And just maybe Monique Judge is right and the world does need a return of personal blogs. (Thanks Monique for the extra push to get this out the door today.)

See more AwkwardYeti inspiration.

P.S. What if the thing that makes you feel alive is shooting off fireworks at 4am on a Tuesday? Well, that’s a topic for another day.