1. Set “gift-goals,” not “should-goals.” 2. Find champions and sources of accountability. 3. See yourself in partnership with a larger force. 4. Create a plan based on your unique strengths and resources. 5. Make it the default. 6. Compassionately investigate when you get stuck.

What Is the Inner Critic?

We feel pachad when the ego perceives something it feels will wound the ego’s fragile self-concept in some way. We feel yirah when the ego perceives that something has the potential to bring us into transcendence of the ego.

there is a voice in each of us that is unburdened by fear and untouched by insecurity, that has utter calm, that emanates love for oneself and others, and that knows exactly who we would be if we were brave enough to show up as our true selves. The “inner mentor” is a way of accessing that part of us, a tool to tap into it.

any substantive work draws a wide range of reactions.

Create a character that personifies your inner critic.

the implied paradigm at school is that students will always have the opportunity to prepare in advance.

I’ve seen so many women make this move. A woman becomes captivated by an idea. She’s captivated because she’s noticed something missing from the conversation and has something to say. Yet instead of sharing her own perspective, she creates a project to curate other people’s ideas about it.

Your inner mentor can give you a kind of support that no outer mentor can give you. She’s not a replacement for outer mentors, but she is a necessary complement to them.