Therapeutic writing exercise: make friends with your inner voice
How to begin turning your inner critic into your greatest ally. Believe me, it's possible!
Watch the video for background and context, then try this Soul Scripting therapeutic writing exercise to begin making friends with your inner voice.
Watched the video?
Great, now meet yourself for coffee.
Schedule some time, the way you would if you were going to meet a friend and catch up. Try to carve out at least 15 – 20 minutes where you won’t be disturbed.
Plan to go to your favourite coffee shop or make yourself a drink that you’ll really enjoy. Wherever you decide to do this, take a notebook/paper and a pen with you.
Time for a good catch up
Sit down with your drink, get comfortable, open your notebook to a new page and write the question:
‘How are you doing?’
That’s the kind of question a friend would ask if you went out for coffee, isn’t it? So be your own friend; don’t leave yourself hanging! Begin to answer the question right away, exactly as you would if a friend had asked out loud. The difference here is that the conversation will take place in writing.
The answer might read something like:
‘Oh, I’m not sure. Give me a minute to drink a bit of this coffee then I’ll answer you.’
That's valid, but if you take a minute with your coffee remember someone’s waiting on your reply. Stay focused.
Or perhaps you write:
‘I’m not sure where to start. Oh yeah, wait, no I actually have got news to share…’
See what I did there? I wrote the ‘place holder’ words. In conversation, we often use placeholders like ‘oh’ and ‘wait’. We also change direction without thinking twice. Do you let yourself do that when you’re writing? If you don’t, try it. Write like you speak.
If your hand can’t keep up with your brain, write the question then record the answer as a voicenote to yourself. Did you know you can send WhatsApp voicenotes to yourself? Just type ‘me’ into the search bar.
During this exercise
Have a conversation with yourself
Follow up with the next natural response by asking yourself, ‘If a friend shared what I just shared, what would I say? What would I ask?’ Make sure to express care and compassion, as well as interest
play both roles – the person asking the questions and the one answering
really pay attention to what you’re writing. I don’t mean the spelling and grammar – pay no attention to those, this is a chat with a friend! If your friend stumbled over their words you probably wouldn’t notice, you’d be paying attention to what they were saying and how they were feeling. This is an exercise in befriending yourself, so afford yourself that same courtesy
if it helps, picture someone else (a friend, or even a version of you from another time in your life). Write the questions in their voice, then answer in your own
Have a play around with this. Take it in any direction you like. Get to know yourself! Remember, we don’t plan or edit chats with friends. Let this be spontaneous.
If writing in a conversational way doesn't come easily:
write on loose paper
don't read as you go - keep moving forwards
throw it away at the end
The Soul Scripting Therapeutic Writing Process
This is an exercise from the Soul Scripting Process - a series of writing exercises I've been developing and teaching since 2016. Each exercise works on its own but the in the process they work together, to lead you on a powerful journey of self-exploration, discovery, and empowerment.
When I run a Soul Scripting workshop, the details will be on this website. I also share journalling exercises with counselling clients. They're a great way to continue your work and support yourself between sessions.
If you'd like to work with me, book a free intro call.
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