Self-Police Reform

There are many ways to police ourselves. We could be the kind of cop that belittles, threatens, wields a billy club of self-punishment. The kind that always assumes we’re criminals and deserving of scorn. The judgmental type that stops us from peacefully expressing ourselves and living freely. We could be the type that turns a blind eye to destructive behavior as long as we get something out of it.

Or we could be the type of cop that police are supposed to be. Striving to keep the peace. There to serve and protect our higher good. There to guide ourselves to be ethical and reroute us when we’ve missed the mark.

I don’t know about you, but the officer in my head hasn’t always been so understanding or compassionate towards me. Just like the U.S. is in dire need of police reform, for me to find peace, it was necessary for me to reform the policing of my own mind. To be sure, that asshole still comes to visit me from time to time but there’s a new sheriff in town. And she’s kind to me. She looks out for my best interest. She protects me. If she has to, she put me on house arrest to think about what I’ve done. But most of the time she just pulls me over to have a heart-to-heart conversation and lets me get back on my way. Because ultimately, she's knows I'm just a fallible human trying my best to make it in this ever-complex world.

Negative self-talk and self-destructive behaviors plague so many of us. But with deliberate intention, we can change the way we treat and think about ourselves. There is nothing wrong with holding ourselves to standards of self-respect and morality. But if the officer in our heads is beating us up, it’s time to give ‘em the boot and bring in someone who is there to keep us alive and well.

May the officer in your head forever play the good cop.