It's Time to Reframe Our Inner Critic

Welcome to Creatives Anonymous is a weekly newsletter about navigating creativity in the 21st century. It inspires, encourages, and empowers readers to take back their creative power.

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I’m excited to kick off a new series in this newsletter, where I’m inviting some of the coolest creatives I know to share their unique perspectives and points of view on creativity, along with an opportunity to amplify and share their incredible work.

As a creative, our worst enemy is our inner critic. That voice in our head that tells us that everything we put out is crap, that we don’t know what we’re doing, and that we’ll never get to where we want to go. But what our inner critic really does is allow us to play small and prevent us from tapping into our highest potential. 

So, it’s time to flip the script and reframe our inner critic so that it works for us instead of against us. 

This week, I’ve invited my good friend Zoé Tziotis Shields to talk about pushing past our limiting beliefs and thriving as a creative.

Zoé is a Seattle-based theatre artist with a BFA in acting and costume design and a Certified Professional Coach (CPC, ELI-MP). She is also the founder of The Meraki Coach, a coaching practice for blocked artists and burnout creatives. 

As a multidisciplinary theatre artist, Zoé is dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment in the theatre realm, extending support to actors and all blocked/ burnt-out creatives. With a passion for integrating mental health resources into the creative process, she advocates for prioritizing the well-being of creatives to ensure longevity and sustainability in their careers. By nurturing artists' minds, bodies, and souls, Zoé believes we can empower them to captivate audiences on an enriching journey through every performance or piece of art.

This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness. 

1. As a theater artist and mental health coach, you spend a lot of time working with burned-out and blocked creatives. What are some of their biggest challenges?

The biggest challenges blocked creatives face are universal to anyone putting themselves on the line for their work. I feel like the list is wide but relatable. Common themes are high expectations, fear of criticism and rejection, perfectionism, overcommitment, isolation, and lack of stability and certainty. 

When I work with clients, we face the challenges head-on and spend time understanding their mindset and their “why” to re-evaluate and recognize signs of burnout. This helps with creating strategies for creating sustainable loops around self-care, boundary setting, and career goals.

2. Limiting beliefs often prevents us from achieving our highest creative potential. How can we minimize and reframe these beliefs?

"I will never be good enough!” “I am not worthy of love!” “I don't deserve success!” “I'm an imposter.” “People will find out I'm not as talented as they think I am.” “Who am I kidding?” “No matter how much I try, I will never be able to... blah, blah, blah!"

That's a lot of false accusations! But does this monologue sound familiar? That's our inner critic talking, also known as your inner critic message. We all have one that lives in our heads, telling us never to take risks, always to take the safe road, and to play small.

Your inner critic is personalized to your individual experience. In coaching, this is identified as an internal block; it's the most intense emotional charge of any of the four blocks. Fear feeds our inner critics; they latch on and coach us to live meekly and play small. All this to say, your inner critic plays a role in your life. It’s neither good nor bad; it’s simply there to ensure you’re safe and protect you from anything potentially bad.

Here’s how you can quiet your inner critic and take control back:

• Identify it. If the voice highlights your limitations and not your greatness, it's your critic, not you.

• Name it. My inner critic is named Ivy. Her thoughts take over like Ivy, and it can be hard for my mind to get out of her grasp.

• Learn what makes up your inner critic message. Jot down phrases that come up and see how many of these messages are incorporated into your daily thoughts.

• Take stock of your feelings. Regularly check in with yourself to see how you're feeling when you identify the messages.

• Stand up to your inner critic. When it shows up, say, "Thanks for the warning, but no thanks, I'll be okay without your help."

3. Can you talk more about what it means to be in "meraki" and the Meraki Method framework you use with your coaching clients?

“Meraki” (μεράκι) is a modern Greek word meaning “labor of love, to do something with pleasure, through soul, love, and creativity.” It is applied to tasks, usually creative or artistic tasks, but it can be applied to any task at all.

There is duality in intentionally embodying meraki: being and doing. Meraki is an art form that helps you connect to your highest self. Intentionally embodying meraki is a daily practice, checking inward, just like mindfulness practices. Ask yourself, “Is this thought, action, or environment making me feel joy at my optimal creative ability?” That’s the art of meraki. 

A core principle of meraki is that you cannot make a mistake, and there are no wrong decisions. You can either win from the situation or learn from it. Each moment describes who you are and allows you to decide if that's who you want to be. 

Being in a state of “meraki” is living in joy and exuding it. Energy attracts like energy; others will want to know how you sustain joy and your process. You can be anyone, working any job, living any type of lifestyle, and still intentionally embody meraki into your life.

4. What advice can you give to anyone who feels creatively burned out or blocked to reset themselves and fall back in love with their work?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach; coaching can help individuals craft a strategy to get unblocked and fall back in love with their work. 

Most creatives are under pressure from internal and external interpretations or assumptions embedded in the process that block them from success. What helps is taking a step back and taking time for reflection, establishing boundaries, experimenting with new techniques, and setting realistic goals. This allows a shift in perspective and values evaluation. It also helps to identify the why. This will align your work with motivation, mission, and passion. 

I encourage you to break through your process and rebuild your routine—allow yourself to be messy and imperfect. Donate the internal narratives, assumptions, and limiting beliefs to the nearest Goodwill, and don’t look back!

Creativity helps you develop new problem-solving methods and form new perspectives when approaching challenging situations. Humans often get stuck in our logical brains and don't explore our heart space. An internal block clogs the channel for the head and heart to communicate and be congruent in decision-making. Not everything is black and white; there are gray areas. These "gray areas" are not wrong but a choice against the status quo. Search for ways to solve problems that work for YOU, the individual. Ways to be productive, successful, and open to new opportunities. Strive to make art or solve problems through the lens of abundance, not through scarcity.

Remember that creative burnout is a temporary challenge you can overcome. Permit yourself to take care of your mental and emotional well-being. Fall in love with your process and trust the creative flow will follow.

5. What’s one creative project that you’re working on now?

I'm currently engaged in a delightful creative pursuit—learning the art of fabric creation and design purely for my enjoyment. I enjoy hand-embroidering my original designs, but lately, I've found joy in blending my artistic vision with technology to scale up my work. Each step of this journey is a learning experience, and I find immense value in acquiring new skills. Being a perpetual student of this craft keeps me deeply engaged and inspired.

Learn more about Zoé the work she does through her coaching practice, The Meraki Coach, and check out her recent blog, Would You Date Yourself?

Are you a creative who’s working on something cool or has an interesting perspective on creativity you want to share? I want to hear from you! Fill out the interest form for your chance to be interviewed for Creatives Anonymous.  

CREATIVE CORNER

• 🎞️ What I’m consuming: So. Much. TV. Apples Never Fall, The Girls on the Bus, and We Were the Lucky Ones are just a few series I started (and finished) last week.

• 💡 Idea I’m loving: Quarterly reset to refresh and recalibrate my goals. I try to do this every quarter to reflect on how my quarter went and plan my priorities for the upcoming quarter.

• 🎨 What I’m working on: I wrote ~5,000 words of my manuscript last week, most of it over the weekend. That alone has given me enough momentum to keep me engaged and excited to work on the project.

• 💭 Weekly musing:

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Thank you so much for everyone’s support 💕 I’m so grateful for you all!

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