You try.
You slip.
Then the critic arrives.
“Get it together.”
“Why are you like this.”
It doesn’t show up to help.
It shows up to punish effort.
Your body doesn’t hear punishment as motivation.
It hears danger.
So you stall.
Not from laziness. From defence.
Kindness is the better strategy.
“It’s okay.”
“I’ve got you.”
And just like that,
you keep going.
