Are you under the spell of your ‘inner slave driver’?
Today in my letter to you I wanted to share with you one very powerful way that you can uncover more joy and ease in your life.
And it has to do with that part of us that I sometimes call the ‘inner slave driver' or ‘inner task master’.
‘You should have done better!’
‘You really haven’t achieved much today’
‘What’s next? Get a move on!’
Sound familiar?!
For me, when left unnoticed, this inner slave driver sneaks into the driving seat of my mind, and before I know it, I’m rushing around filling every spare moment with something deemed as ‘productive’.
Even when I am feeling some satisfaction at a project completed, a workshop done, jobs accomplished, it won’t be long before that cheeky inner slave driver will pipe up again and have me rushing towards the next thing ‘okay Claire, so what’s next?!’.
I wonder if you can relate at all?
You might have a different name for it, but the chances are that part of you has been around for a very, very long time and usually so very familiar to us it can easily go unnoticed.
And I wonder…
….have you ever noticed that when you are under the spell of this ‘hurry up, get more done!’ voice, there’s generally not a whole lot of ease, joy and pleasure going on…?!
This is how I lived the early part of my adult life and it was incredibly soul depleting!
Even though deep down, a part of me longed for more play, connection, lazing about, resting, simple pleasure, and ease the inner task master took over and had me obsessed with being ‘productive’ and achieving.
Nowadays when I notice that inner slave driver telling me to get more done, or that I haven’t done enough, I just pause and say ‘hi’!
I’m friendly to this part of me AND I value joy, ease and connection too much to allow for my actions and decisions to be guided by it any more.
Here are just a few warning flags that your inner slave driver might be in the driving seat of your mind:
feeling a lot of tension in your body and mind
noticing lots of ‘should’s’ ‘oughts’ and ‘must’s’ in your words
rushing and hurrying around
feeling overwhelmed and/or exhausted
squeezing in little jobs into every ‘free’ space in your day
bossing other people around
In moments such as these I invite you to;
❤️ slow down, pause and simply notice the terrain of this pattern; any thoughts, feelings and physical sensations that are present.
❤️ resist any temptation to judge or try to get rid of this part of you. You might just greet it kindly (remember although not so helpful now, these parts of us were what helped stay connected to our caregivers when we were young)
❤️ allow your breath to deepen, soften and relax as you breathe out
what are the effects of kindly recognising this part of you?
By noticing, and creating some space around these old ways of being, we open up the possibility for more compassionate and wise choices and actions to arise.
…choices that are more aligned with our deeper values. Choices that deeply support us on a soul level.