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The Guardian Mind: Safety First, Growth Later
The Guardian Mind is the part of your subconscious that is constantly scanning for danger. Not just physical danger, but emotional danger too- rejection, judgment, failure, shame, abandonment.
WISDOM & SELF-GROWTH
It is built from everything you have seen, heard, and lived. Childhood dynamics, school, religion, culture, heartbreak, humiliation, trauma, praise, silence. It takes all of that in and builds rules about what keeps you safe.
Rules like:“ If I stand out, I get knocked down.”“ If I grow too much, I will lose people.”“ If I play small, I am safe.”
The Guardian Mind runs those rules in the background. The inner critic is one of the voices it uses.
So, when you reach for something that challenges those rules, the critic lights up.
You want to be more visible- it says,“ You are going to embarrass yourself.”
You think about changing your life- it says,“ Who do you think you are.”
You consider asking for more- it says,“ Others deserve it more.”
From its perspective, it is doing you a favor. It is the bodyguard saying,“ Back away from the edge, this is dangerous.”
The problem is that the Guardian Mind is calibrated to the past, not to who you are becoming. What once felt protective can now be the very thing holding you back.
Friend or Foe
So is the inner critic a friend or a foe?
If you treat it as the authority, it is a foe. It will talk you out of your power, your visibility, and your most amazing life.
If you treat it as a signal from the Guardian
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