ILLUSTRATION: JESSICA DURRANT/GETTY IMAGES
What would life look like if, instead of criticising yourself, you gave yourself encouragement? You make a mistake, but your inner dialogue says, ‘Never mind, learn from it, you’ll do better next time.’ You have feelings our society disapproves of, anger or jealousy, but your inner dialogue says, ‘It’s OK, your feelings are valid.’ You say the wrong thing at a party and feel like you’ve made a fool of yourself, but your inner voice says, ‘You’ve nothing to be ashamed of.’ It’s hard to judge a child, as we understand their innate innocence and the fact that they are still learning. So, when you embrace your inner child, it suddenly becomes much more difficult to judge yourself.
Permission to be me