Inadequacy: The Judge Mechanism

The impossible standard

The mind creates an image of an Ideal Self. This imaginary person is always productive, always calm, always rich, and always loved.

The Judge mechanism constantly compares your actual reality to this fantasy. The gap between the two is experienced as the feeling of Inadequacy.

"I am not enough."

"I should be further ahead."

"I am failing."

The motivation trap

You believe the Judge is helping you. You think this voice keeps you ambitious and humble. You think that if you beat yourself up enough, you will finally work hard enough to close the gap.

This is a lie. The Judge does not want you to close the gap. The Judge wants to keep his job.

If you achieve a goal, the Judge immediately moves the goalpost. He finds a new flaw. His function is not to improve you; his function is to condemn you.

The paralysis

Inadequacy does not create excellence. It creates paralysis.

When you feel inadequate, you hide. You procrastinate. You avoid taking risks because you are terrified of proving the Judge right. You spend your energy managing your shame instead of doing your work.

The silence

You cannot satisfy the Judge. You can only fire him.

You do this by refusing to accept the premise of the trial. You realize that "worth" is a made-up concept. A tree does not worry if it is worthy. A lion does not worry if it is adequate. They simply are.

When you stop measuring yourself against a ghost, the noise stops. You are left with what is. And what is, is always enough.

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The behavior of avoidance: Procrastination

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