Writing the Shadow: Make a list of your Shadow personas
“It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.”
—Joseph Campbell
The things in your Shadow are there for a reason.
They protected us from harm at some point, and have a beneficial side, so it’s not about trying to kill these aspects. Instead, the goal is to identify them, get to know them, and stop them from sabotaging us along the path ahead.
If you can catch a glimpse of your Shadow, if you can name an aspect of what you see, you can more easily find ways to deal with the impact in your life.
The Inner Critic
This is one of the most common Shadow personas for authors. It tells you that your writing is bad, that all of your ideas are unoriginal, and that no one will ever want to read your book.
The Inner Critic is useful in many ways, encouraging us to make our books the best they can be through editing and developing our writing craft, and keeping us humble in the face of success.
But it can go too far. It may stop us from creating altogether, or paralyse us with perfectionism, self-doubt, or fear, or prevent us from enjoying success.
If you can recognise the Inner Critic in yourself, that might help you identify a few more of your Shadow personas, the parts that help in some ways, hinder in others. If we can recognise them, we can modulate their influence.
I certainly have the Inner Critic, and here are more of mine to give you further examples.
The Workaholic
She works all the time and defines herself by her work. She doesn’t play and struggles to relax unless she’s exhausted or sick. She is driven to always be producing.
The Control Freak
She thinks and plans years into the future and tries to shape everything so it is within her control. She likes to do everything herself and struggles to let go of anything. She tries to control others, and that has damaged relationships before.
The Body Hater
She feels fat and ugly and chastises herself for ending up this way, then eats something to feel better. She struggles to walk down the street without comparing herself (unfavourably) with every woman she passes.
The Needy One
She really, really, really wants to be liked. She tries to avoid saying things that others might find offensive. She flushes with shame if someone says she is wrong or bad or anything that might mean she is not a nice girl.
These aspects of myself no longer lie in Shadow. I’m aware of them, but that doesn’t mean they’ve gone away. They’re part of me, and there are good and useful aspects of every Shadow persona. The point of the exercise is to understand why we act as we do, and try to stop these things from sabotaging us.
Questions:
• What are some of the personas in your Shadow? What defines their attributes? If you can’t think of any, start with the Inner Critic, which is so common for writers.
• How do they sabotage you or harm you?
• How do aspects of each help you?
• How might they have developed?
Resource:
• A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living — Joseph Campbell
