I don’t have an inner voice; I have a whole committee! Half of them are whiners.
I’ve named one of these voices “Captain Skeptical.” He raises his voice whenever there’s a new idea proposed that I don’t instantly adore, and starts rattling off all the reasons it won’t work. He wants to have the last say, and be “comfortably safe.” He says things like:
“It’s a fantasy.”
“Stand-by for the crash and burn.”
“Who will you blame if this falls apart?”
“Is this solving the problems we really have?”
“That’s not the right person to lead this.”
“I prefer different team members than these.”
“We don’t have that kind of time.”
“That’s an outrageous deadline.”
“Yeah, you and what army?”
“It’s too expensive.”
“It’s way too hard.”
“I should have a bigger role.”
“I want more credit.”
“Who the blazes decided on this?”
Captain Skeptical is actually a useful committee member! This inner critic and fear monger swiftly finds all the potential problems with an idea.
You don’t have to give up on a project, but you should intelligently consider the risks and find ways to mitigate them. You don’t have to love every part of an idea that has come down from your boss, but look for ways to improve it. You don’t have to treasure your role in implementing every idea, but you can be a mature leader and lay your personal preferences aside for the greater joy of serving others.
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