The voice in my head
April 22, 2009emily No Comments »I turned in another chapter to my advisor a few weeks ago and when I got her comments back, she said that this was the best work I’d done so far. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Phew! I’d put so much work into that particular chapter, gnawing on it in my head for months (yes, months) before I wrote it, revising it three times (seriously) before I let her see it. And I was thrilled that she liked it. But not a second after I’d breathed that sigh of relief, an annoying voice piped up. “Wait… if that’s the best work you’ve done so far, what does that say about the other work you’ve turned in?” I looked around, but nobody else was in the room. The voice continued, undeterred. “Maybe that means your other work isn’t good. Maybe it even means that it’s crap.” Ah, yes, the voice in my head. Does everyone come equipped with one of these? You know, you get a nose, some limbs, all your important internal organs, a handful of other things, and oop! Don’t forget the crippling self-doubt! Wouldn’t want you to head out into the world without that! Is there a button I can click to disable it? Or, like the Do Not Call registry, can I sign up to have my name removed from the list?
Join the discussion