Thanks for the vulnerability in this post Monica. This is what came up for me.
Mr. clever shows up when life isn’t fair. It shows up as fear – fear of being taken advantage of, fear of loss – money, control, stability, reputation, then Mr. clever works overtime to get what he wants- control. My father had a lot of little sayings such as“life is not fair“, or “you can’t fight City Hall“. I hated these sayings. I still do, but sometimes they are reality. Mr. clever wants to fight back to the point of chewing off one’s own leg to escape the reality of the trap we’re in. The reality is life can be messy, unfair, and painful. The truth is my soul knows how to navigate it better than Mr. clever. My soul knows that a loss may be a doorway, but Mr. clever hates the loss, (How unfair!), so much he refuses to see the doorway.
For most of the last decade I think My Mr. Clever has been My Mr. GhostLife. I went through very many family crises in the years leading up to the pandemic, and my own personal mental health crises during the pandemic.
Thanks for this post, because I'm about ready to make a break with Mr. GhostLife. I'll now be more aware, I hope, when Mr. Clever shows up.
My “take charge” voice is Capt. Conn. (That’s a story all by itself.)
For weeks now, my soul has let me know that something is about to be born. And it’s taking too damn long, in my opinion! So I quietly rant, begin sinking into depression, then whine and complain that my spark is gone, etc, etc..
This waiting period that feels as though NOTHING is happening has Capt. Conn screaming, “Tighten UP! Get your show on the road!” I’ve been living in an inner war zone for awhile now.
Thank you Monica for reminding me to go with the flow of my soul. Breathe, relax, and let nature take it’s course.
Hi Monica, I have a Mr Clever telling me to be a sole trader coach. I have a Rosie telling me that I am a change maker and I want to be the Head of a Coaching Service Department.
My roadblock--and it's not even a clever one--is negativity. "I don't have the money, energy, time..." for that thing that I need/want to do. And let's not forget the "I'm not good enough/I don't deserve that/No one will like me if I do that, and I'll die alone" voice.
And notice how quickly it moves to shut things down… money, time, energy, worth, belonging. It’s not even creative, just persistent.
That’s not you. That’s the part of you that’s trying to keep everything familiar and “safe,” even if it keeps you small.
The fact that you can name it like this? That’s a big deal. That’s where things start to shift.
You don’t have to wrestle it to the ground. You just have to stop letting it make the decisions.
If you want support with this, come sit with us in the Breakthrough group. We talk about exactly this in a very real, grounded way.
And if you send me your email in a DM, I’ll make sure you have a copy of the workbook. It’ll give you something concrete to work with instead of just circling in those thoughts.
You’re not stuck. You’re just hearing a very old voice a little louder than your own right now.
Thanks for the vulnerability in this post Monica. This is what came up for me.
Mr. clever shows up when life isn’t fair. It shows up as fear – fear of being taken advantage of, fear of loss – money, control, stability, reputation, then Mr. clever works overtime to get what he wants- control. My father had a lot of little sayings such as“life is not fair“, or “you can’t fight City Hall“. I hated these sayings. I still do, but sometimes they are reality. Mr. clever wants to fight back to the point of chewing off one’s own leg to escape the reality of the trap we’re in. The reality is life can be messy, unfair, and painful. The truth is my soul knows how to navigate it better than Mr. clever. My soul knows that a loss may be a doorway, but Mr. clever hates the loss, (How unfair!), so much he refuses to see the doorway.
For most of the last decade I think My Mr. Clever has been My Mr. GhostLife. I went through very many family crises in the years leading up to the pandemic, and my own personal mental health crises during the pandemic.
Thanks for this post, because I'm about ready to make a break with Mr. GhostLife. I'll now be more aware, I hope, when Mr. Clever shows up.
My “take charge” voice is Capt. Conn. (That’s a story all by itself.)
For weeks now, my soul has let me know that something is about to be born. And it’s taking too damn long, in my opinion! So I quietly rant, begin sinking into depression, then whine and complain that my spark is gone, etc, etc..
This waiting period that feels as though NOTHING is happening has Capt. Conn screaming, “Tighten UP! Get your show on the road!” I’ve been living in an inner war zone for awhile now.
Thank you Monica for reminding me to go with the flow of my soul. Breathe, relax, and let nature take it’s course.
Hi Monica, I have a Mr Clever telling me to be a sole trader coach. I have a Rosie telling me that I am a change maker and I want to be the Head of a Coaching Service Department.
My roadblock--and it's not even a clever one--is negativity. "I don't have the money, energy, time..." for that thing that I need/want to do. And let's not forget the "I'm not good enough/I don't deserve that/No one will like me if I do that, and I'll die alone" voice.
Oh yes… I know that voice well.
And notice how quickly it moves to shut things down… money, time, energy, worth, belonging. It’s not even creative, just persistent.
That’s not you. That’s the part of you that’s trying to keep everything familiar and “safe,” even if it keeps you small.
The fact that you can name it like this? That’s a big deal. That’s where things start to shift.
You don’t have to wrestle it to the ground. You just have to stop letting it make the decisions.
If you want support with this, come sit with us in the Breakthrough group. We talk about exactly this in a very real, grounded way.
And if you send me your email in a DM, I’ll make sure you have a copy of the workbook. It’ll give you something concrete to work with instead of just circling in those thoughts.
You’re not stuck. You’re just hearing a very old voice a little louder than your own right now.
Mr. Clevver like in "Riddley Walker"?
I hadn’t heard of that, but I looked it up. Interesting how “clever” isn’t always wisdom… sometimes it’s the thing that pulls you off your truth.
Best novel I've ever read!