If you’ve ever passed on your dream job or opportunity because it scared you to death, then you need to know that you aren’t alone. Tara Sophia Mohr, expert on conscious leadership and the creator of the Playing Big leadership program for women, says that creatives that handle their own careers need many selves for each aspect of the creative process. We paralyse ourselves when we bring out the wrong self at the wrong time. Mohr has identified three voices within every creator: the inner artist, the inner editor, and the inner agent. The inner artist rules the domain of receiving ideas and inspiration and fleshing them out. The inner editor’s job is revising and trimming, making sure the work communicates the artist’s intent. The inner agent comes out to develop marketing and communicating strategies and to find lucrative distribution paths. While the inner selves don’t have to be used in a linear process, they have to be used for exactly their specific purpose. Using one when you should be using the other leads to stagnation. Mohr has developed techniques to identify and harness each inner self, including assessing your creative life so that you know what self you default to and what self you avoid. She also advocates mindfully shifting in and out of each role as you progress throughout your creative journey.

1. Self-Sabotage And the Ways you can avoid it

2. Have you ever come across your dream opportunity

3. And then allowed yourself to let it slip away?

4. Maybe it was an awesome book deal

5. Or a mindblowing business proposal

6. Either way, you ignored it

7. Even if you knew very well that it was a once in a lifetime thing

8. Have you ever wondered why we sometimes behave in such a
clearly counterproductive way?

9. “As creatives governing our own careers, we have to bring many
skillsets – many different selves, even – to the diverse activities we
do on a daily basis. When we bring the wrong self to the table, we
get paralysed.” – Tara Sophia Mohr

10. Mohr believes that every creator has three voices that
must be used in different situations

11. And most problems in the creative life arise from bringing the
wrong self to the right task

12. Let’s break it down…

13. The Inner Artist

14. Specialisation: receiving ideas and inspiration,
execution, seeing concepts into fruition

15. “being known as a problem
solver is a good thing. But
when people start looking
at you to put out their
fires… that is different. They
will keep coming back and
you will soon be an
expected service.
Environment: Safe from others’ opinions, impressions,
judgments

16. The Inner Editor

17. Specialisation: revising, trimming, structuring, editing, ensuring
that the work effectively communicates the artist’s message

18. Environment: With other people gauging reactions,
comments, opinions

19. The Inner Agent

20. Specialisation: being market savvy, courageous, bold, able to
find the optimum path to success

21. Environment: Communicating and marketing the work to
potential stakeholders, clients, and investors

22. “The artist explores what he doesn’t know. The editor brings to
bear what he does know. The agent advocates for what he wants.”
– Tara Sophia Mohr

23. Using these three selves will allow you to navigate the different
processes of creativity, editing, and self-marketing

24. Still confused? There are ways to explore them
further and employ them better!

25. Ask questions like:
Which of these roles is my comfort zone?
Which of these roles is my default?
Which of these roles do I avoid like the plague?

26. Get to know each of your inner roles.
Give each of them a theme song. Assign each of them a
color. Visualise each of them as a fruit.

27. Map out your week and figure out which role is appropriate for
each task

28. And finally, make a conscious effort to shift in and out of each
appropriate role

29. Learning when, where, and how to use your
Inner artist
Inner editor
Inner agent
Will allow you the freedom to take each and every
opportunity that you deserve

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