| I had a dream last night about a man… almost cartoonish… who was like my dad. He was expressing how difficult he made life for me because I needed it. I needed the constant opposition and discouragement to block my pride and keep me humble and in my place… that his constant pushing me down was good for me in the end. I woke up realizing that even though the character in the dream represents my dad, it also represents his voice inside my own head that I've made my own voice. It’s like cops (my dad was a cop) or other authorities in our dreams who represent our judgmental inner selves… that voice inside our head that judges us guilty and will punish us if we don’t follow the rules. Most people have that inner judgmental voice. But some of us, like me, have a very loud one because it isn’t only innate… it was also planted and encouraged by our environments. It made me realize, just this morning, that for me life has largely been my effort to overcome the limitations others imposed or tried to impose on me. An example: When my guidance counsellor at the end of high school recommended that because of my grades I would not succeed in higher education and should just go get a trade job or something menial. It reinforced that voice inside my head that says I’m stupid… something I’d been called many times as a child. I went on to get my B.A., then a Masters (cum laude), and another degree in ministry… in defiance of all voices that didn’t believe I could do it… both external and internal. I’m not stupid. But I constantly need to remind or convince myself of that. Do you also feel, like me, that for you to be your most authentic self and to succeed in life you have to constantly defy the negative voices inside and outside your head? Or is this just me? | 
