Dear Reader 🌿

Spring is finally here! In my balcony planter, daffodils and wildflowers are stubbornly pushing up the first green shoots, entirely without my help. May it be a sign of positive changes unfolding in all areas of life.

In much the same way, I have several new creative projects in progress. Among them, I will soon launch a creative women’s circle, which I’m excited to share with you ✨. Write to me here if you’d like to hear more, and we can have a chat about what it is and how it might support you.

There is a real need for all of us creative or sensitive people, you and I, to stand up and express what we are here to express, and to do what we know must be done.

Yet so often, we do not. Why? Because we are hard on ourselves and feel shame for not being good enough, smart enough, talented enough, attractive enough, lovable enough, creative enough 💛.

It is especially the sensitive and conscientious who struggle with this. Right now, we need to hear from you.

Let’s talk about what we can do about it. There's so much bad advice circulating out there.

The harsh inner voice that makes you feel bad about yourself is called the inner critic or guardian. It is actually not your enemy, even though it feels that way. Ignoring it, trying to silence it, or attempting to eradicate it (yes, some courses and therapists recommend this) does not help.

It is a psychological defense mechanism, a part of you that once protected you. Your young psyche created it to keep the most valuable part of you, your soul’s essence, safe, so it wouldn’t break or wither when you were attacked, ignored, teased, or made to feel wrong.

Now, every time your soul wants to express itself, the critic steps forward to “protect you” and shuts you down before anyone can reach you on a soul level.

That is why the closer you get to expressing the true you, your natural and authentic creativity, the more insecure you may feel.

I encourage you not to stop, but to keep going 🌱. The better you understand this mechanism, the more gently you can be with yourself when it arises. That gentleness is exactly what allows your creative flow to grow stronger.

Over time, you will listen less and less to the critic. You will become more self-compassionate, perhaps even loving toward yourself – and yes, unstoppably creative.

With love and creativity 👑

Karin

PS. If you’d like to work more deeply with this, I’ve prepared a short audio guide with exercises for working with the inner critic 🎧. It’s from the course The Art of Self-Healing