How can we identify the voices of the inner critic and the inner daredevil?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
When we live in a completely fast-paced world, how do we know whether we are being checked by the inner critic or whether we are propelled too fast by the inner critic? Could we identify the voices and act wisely? It is basically a process of realization through experience.
Just like when we eat food. Now, how do we know how much food is enough? All of us have different appetites and some of us may eat less and still that will be enough for us. Some of us may eat more and that is what is enough for us.
So we all learn by our own experience. Now, when we eat too little, we feel constantly hungry, eat too much, then after eating we feel de-energized. It is the food giving us energy, we feel actually exhausted after eating.
So, we just learn by experience. So, with respect to food, there is an inner sensor within us which tells us it is enough. If I don’t listen to it, then I tend to overeat.
So, similarly, actually, just as in food, we learn by experience. And now, there are some people who are naturally thoughtful, some people who are naturally dynamic, but everybody has to achieve a balance. Now, for some people, they may eat a little and even then they become fat.
Some people, they eat a lot and they still remain thin. People are constituted differently biologically. So, like that, there are some people who tend to be more on the side of action.
Some people may be more on the side of deliberation. But overall, whatever it is, now we have to find a balance. Even people who are very action-oriented, they also need some amount of deliberation.
So, basically, it is when we are going through our life, especially the major decisions that we make in our life, the major turns that we have made in our life, we look back. Okay, the situation I did like this. If I had done this, what could have happened? If I had done this, what could have happened? Learning from the past means we, in a very mature way, look back at the past, look at our decisions and look how we acted.
There are often times in our life, you know, why did I speak that? Why did I do that? And there are times when you feel, I should have done that. Why did I do that at that time? Sometimes in a meeting, we have a good idea, but you know, what will people think of me? And we just don’t speak it. That was a good idea.
I should have spoken it. So, we ourselves look back and learn. So, when we learn, sometimes we may just berate ourselves.
Why did I speak like that? Or why did I not speak a resolution at that time? But instead of simply berating ourselves, at that time, we can understand, you know, this time the inner critic was speaking. That stopped me. We can actually need to a little go back.
And what was it that made me speak like that? What was it that stopped me from speaking? There is some pseudo reasoning that is done over there. The inner critic or the inner daredevil, they add on some kind of pseudo reasoning. So, if you catch that, this was what I thought at that time.
Somebody might do something rash. And then why did they do that? This is my moment of glory. And this is why, and that is why a player may from far away try to hit a goal instead of taking the ball closer.
So, was that really my moment of glory or did it turn out to be a moment of folly? So, what was the reasoning that we got? It is a pseudo reasoning, but if you understand the reasoning, then we can catch it. This is where I was deceived. So, basically, to understand this, to understand how the inner critic or how the inner daredevil are acting in our life, basically, we look back at our life and look at the moments when we later feel we did not act appropriately.
Either we acted too rashly or we did not act at all, both ways. And then go backwards further at those moments and check what was the reasoning that was advanced in that. And then counter that reasoning.
It might be just one moment of reasoning, but that’s what happens. Say, I plan to get up in the morning. I got up and then it’s too cold.
I can’t get up. I’ll sleep now. Then next morning, if I wake up later in the night, why did I not wake up? No, just beating ourselves up is no use.
It’s too cold. That’s what the inner voice said. Okay, was it really cold? If it is cold, maybe then I’ll plan.
I’ll sleep with an extra jacket, extra sweater. So, I don’t have to necessarily listen to… sometimes that voice may be saying a true thing. It’s cold, but it’s not so cold that I have to stay under my blanket, under my comforter.
I can get up. So, I can have… we can counter that voice. And for all this, actually, if we practice yoga, especially if we practice yoga in terms of connecting ourselves with higher spiritual reality, the process of meditation is something which makes us more aware of our thoughts.
So, the meditation may not seem immediately connected with these moments of when we deal with our inner critic or our inner dare devil, but the whole process of meditation makes us more aware of our thoughts. And then we can catch, oh, this was what my mind was saying at this time. And then we can answer it.
So, especially when we chant, we do a mantra meditation. We chant the mantra Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Ram, Ram Ram, Hare Hare. So, when we repeat this mantra, this becomes like an anchor for the consciousness.
And the consciousness goes here, consciousness goes, oh, it’s going here, it’s going there, bring it back. So, we become aware. So, this training and self-awareness, which comes from meditation, helps us to become aware of the pseudo reasoning with which the inner critic or the inner dare devil deceives us.
And then we can counter that. Does that answer your question? Any other questions or comments?