The Inner Critic (on Practicing, pt 2)

July 27

The second lesson of practicing is that practicing must be efficient.

This is the role of the inner critic.

No man is an island and no calendar is truly free—if there ever were days of single-minded devotion to one hobby or skill, those days are long gone. 

None of us have 24 hours a day every day to invest in something new—and even if we did, the question would still loom in front of us: what are the most effective ways to invest those 24 hours? And for those of us with less time still, how do we make the most of what we have? 

People often turn their anger on themselves—frustrated and upset because they failed a task they’ve yet to master, angry that their fingers or judgment slipped. In this regard, the critic is misplaced: it is your job to be 100% realistic and borderline unreasonable in the efficient use of your time. Not demanding more time or more effort, but taking a military-like discipline with how you use whatever time you do invest. 

You may even find that, having been seen, having been accepted, and (most importantly) having been given a job, the inner critic is willing to stay out of everyone else’s business.

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