Week 32 of 52 : Whose Voice Are You Hearing?

First, can we take a moment because we made it to week four!

Thank you to everyone who keeps coming back each week to reflect and write with me. Whether you have answered every prompt, skipped one, or saved them all for when you finally have a quiet moment, I appreciate you being here.

There is no right or wrong way to do this. The fact that you are taking a moment to check in with yourself matters

This weeks Prompt:

Whose voice do you hear when you criticize yourself?

I came across a shadow work prompt that made me stop and think about the way we speak to ourselves.

We can be so hard on ourselves without ever questioning where those words came from.

That voice saying you are not good enough, you always mess things up, or you should be further along by now, is that really your voice?

Or is it something someone said to you so many times that you eventually started saying it to yourself?

That is the part that gets me. Sometimes the person is no longer around.

The moment has passed. We may even believe we have moved on, but their words are still living inside us and showing up whenever we feel insecure, make a mistake, or try something new.

After a while, their voice starts sounding like our own.

And because it sounds familiar, we believe it.

This prompt is not about blaming anyone or forcing yourself to suddenly think positively. It is simply about paying attention.

When that critical voice shows up, pause and ask where you first heard it.

You may realize that some of the things you believe about yourself were never yours to begin with.

Maybe your own voice has been buried underneath everyone else’s opinions for so long that you are not sure what it sounds like yet. That is okay too.

Perhaps it starts with something simple:

I am trying.

I am learning.

I deserved more kindness than that.

The goal is not to silence every negative thought overnight. It is to recognize which voice belongs to you and which one you are finally ready to stop believing.

Be gentle with yourself as you write. Some voices have been with us for a long time, but that does not mean they get to speak for us forever.