The judge in your head stands in your way of achieving your dreams.

I said yes to an offer that paid twice what I was earning before. I needed the money. But the job felt wrong.

I lost my way when I listened to the judge in my head.

I was supposed to be an expert on things like soil, plants and how they mesh. After all, I have a degree in agriculture.

“You can do it. You can be one of those people you see on TV explaining the latest agricultural innovation.” I would constantly talk to myself this way. This is the voice in my head.

The judge in your head convinces you of its ways. It convinced me that I should work for a boss who saw me as a resource to be spent. A resource who digs research and comes out with an output that the boss takes full credit for.

The judge in my head made me believe that I was doing the right thing. By accepting a boss’s offer where he pays me begrudgingly rather than celebrate my unique abilities.

“You can do better than that. You don’t even like agriculture. It is taking time away from your writing.” The voice in my heart told me.

Did I listen?

No.

“You don’t have anything else lined up.” “Your friends will think you are a failure if you abandon something you have studied for four years.”

The judge in my head kept giving me these warnings. Which sounds like good advice but it was not.

Everything the judge in your head tells you is laced with fear.

You are afraid of following what your gut is telling you. Because the judge in your head is standing in your way.

“Forget about doing something you love. No one is going to read your articles.” That is its way of withering my soul.

I stayed in jobs for many years in misery because I had listened to the judge in my head.

“You don’t like doing this job. Why are you still here?” The voice in my heart screamed at me at night.

I ignored this voice dishonoring myself in the process.

Things turn out for the best when you listen to the voice in your heart.

Throughout my life, I’ve had to make many decisions between the voice in my heart and the judge in my head.

Whenever I listened to the voice in my heart, things turn out the best. All the time.

Maybe not immediately.

Maybe after a roller-coaster of emotions.

Maybe in the most unexpected way imaginable.

But they always turned out for the best.

When you acknowledge your own worth, your own potential, your own right to lead a life that is more wonderful. Something out there says, “But of course you do.” And the whole universe conspires to make it happen.

Pick me. Pick me. Pick me.

Your heart is calling out to you. The business you want to build from scratch. The hobby you want to take seriously. The art you create in your garage which you want the world to see.

This thing that you love is calling out to you. Pick me. Pick me. You love me.

But there is also another voice in you whose sole purpose in life is to silence the voice that comes from the heart.

Your heart and your head are always at war.

You want to leave your job and travel all over the world. Your heart is dying for you to make a decision so that it can soar. But your head stands firm on its beliefs.

Traveling is not workable. Your money will run out. Traveling and writing about it is not really a job. Are you kidding? What would your father say? What would you say your job is when family asks you in holiday dinners? Do you remember how your friends laughed when you told them you want to travel and write about your travels? Stop this nonsense.

Do you see how busy the judge in your head is? In convincing you to follow its lead. It works day and night in convincing you what your heart wants is childish.

“You are foolish to think you can earn money as a writer. Foolish. Foolish.” It keeps on talking to you. This voice never gets tired.

You hate the judge in your head. It is not there to stand for you. It is there to push you towards what you fear –not what you love. It calculates everything. It does not understand love. Love for writing. Love for creating something just for yourself. Love for your childhood dreams.

The voice in your heart holds its breath while you are creating something and it gnaws at you.

But the judge in your head calculates. Will you receive money for your creation? Not a year from now. Not 6 months from now. But now. If not, then no, go back to your old job that pays you. This dream of creating something is a waste of your time.

The judge in your head stands in your way of achieving your dreams.

I would still be miserable doing a job I hated and had no desire of improving my skills at — had I continued listening to the judge in my head.

I walked away from a job that paid well. Towards something, I wasn’t sure when I was going to get money from. I was sure of one thing though.

I was on my way of doing something I love. Which is writing.

My colleagues thought I was crazy for leaving a job that paid well. They came to my home with cars the company gave them as a loan. To show me what I have missed.

“Here look at this marvelous car. You would have gotten one, had you stayed with us.”

They told me this with a smirk smile on their faces. As if I should abandon my dreams for a car that the company will take. Whenever they decide I am no longer valuable to them.

Listening to the voice in my heart saved me. The smirk of my former colleagues and their show-off cannot compare to the triumph I felt last month. When I received my first paycheck from Medium.

You will not glaze over others when you do something you love. You do the work when no one watches. You do the work even when rejections keep on not just knocking on your door. But also entering into your work without any invitation from you. You get up the next morning and write again.

This isn’t just about the money. This is about being able to do something you love. So, no, the judge in your head is not going to stop you. Difficulties on your road are not going to stop you. They are welcome to try but the voice in your heart won’t let you stop.

When you listen to your heart, nothing is going to stop you. Nothing.

The money will come in time. But it is not the main thing (which the judge in your head keeps on telling you) that keeps on driving you.

The judge in your head stands in your away of achieving your dreams. So, start listening to the voice in your heart and the echoes from your head get to be silenced.

To your inspirations,

Banchi