Kara Loewentheil Quotes

...(Women) are socialized to believe that our worth depends on what other people think of us...So naturally, we make other people into validation vending machines for our self worth, lovability, and value. And equally naturally, we try to get the vending machine to spit out the validation we want - and then get mad or sad when the vending machine won't comply.

The Voice is the constant self-critical soundtrack of thoughts inside your mind. You may be extremely conscious of what it says in words - or you may experience it more through the emotions it produces, a steady stream of socially programmed anxiety, guilt, shame, stress, sadness, and insecurity. It's a product of the social messages aimed at women that we absorb throughout our lives, which program us to believe that our worth and value come from how we look, what other people think of us, what we accomplish, how we behave, and whether everyone approves of us.

But inside, I felt like I was being held hostage by a voice that was a cross between a middle school bully and a disapproving English governess.