Taking the Stage: How Women Can Speak Up, Stand Out, and Succeed

Chapter TwoSilence the Inner Crow

In her book Addiction to Perfection, psychoanalyst Marion Woodman tells us about an inner voice that repeatedly criticized her while she was writing her book. She calls this negative inner voice “the crow.” As Woodman explains, “I have done battle with the black crow sitting on my left shoulder croaking, ‘It isn't good enough. You haven't anything new to say. You don't say it well enough.’”¹ This inner crow seeks to undermine her sense of self as a writer.

Though not all of us are writers, women everywhere can share Woodman's familiarity with the crow that sits on our shoulder and croaks at us with negative self-talk. Before women can take the stage, they must confront this force—one of the most challenging ...