 Miss Originality Doll
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Name: Miss Originality
Wanted For: Being possessive, judgmental, snide, and suspicious, not to mention her obsession that everything be utterly original. And have I mentioned her aversion to repetition or routine?
M.O: Shutting down any idea sparked from someone else. Hoarding ideas, resources, time, and space. Demanding novelty at all costs…”You’ve made that for dinner before…you can’t make it again!”
Classic Lines:
“Copycat!”
“That’s been done before.”
“That’s wasn’t really your idea…“
“Save your best for when you’ve made it big!”
“Repeating yourself is pathetic–unless you’re a toddler or a drooling old geezer”
Evil Plan: Never copy anyone or anything!! Keep anyone from stealing my few, precious original ideas–even if it means locking them away in a tower forever!
Miss Originality is the most recent arrival in the illustrious posse of my Inner Critics. She showed up while I was teaching my last session of Your Creative Life. I was coaching a student through naming and taming her Inner Critic before making an Inner Critic “voodoo doll”. During our work, I heard a screechy preachy little Inner Critic voice in my own head.
I choose not to listen at that time, but I stayed after class and started building my own voodoo doll. Choosing from all the supplies laid out for the workshop, my creation came to life. Miss Originality arrived in her bony skeletal splendor. I hadn’t even thought about why I was drawn to making her a skeleton, but upon reflection it made perfect sense.
She’s starving because she rejects anything that isn’t utterly original and therefore takes in nothing. Feeding only on herself, she is skin and bones! Once I could hold her and understand her fear, I had so much compassion for her that I actually embraced the doll! Through this exercise I exposed one of the unconscious beliefs that was running my life.
BELIEF: Inspiration from others doesn’t count as original.
This belief was very isolating and acknowledging it very freeing. She still shows up surprisingly and frequently through my day. The difference now, is that she doesn’t run my life from the shadows anymore. I acknowledge and validate her fears (You’re really worried. You think that if I publish this great blog post, I’ll be wasted it because I can never use it in a book). And then I go on with my day and post anyway!
Want to name and tame your Inner Critic?
Come do it with Captain Creative in person at my Your Creative Life Class. Click HERE.
Big Bad Inner Critic? If you’ve got a really ornery Inner Critic, I’d love to help you in person–I specialize in exorcising Inner Critics for coaching clients. Contact me for private Inner Critic wrangling.
 Sample Inner Critic Profile From My Workbook.
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