Should I kill or embrace my inner child?

I conclude from all this that I have always been on a path - though subconsciously - of empowering my inner child; of showing it how to overcome the fears it carried around since childhood and achieve my (its) goals.

A pawn

My parents didn't solve the game for checkmate, it's just that I'm downplaying my abilities!

Don’t show me your cross and I won’t show you mine

We avoid exposing our weaknesses - not simply because we don't want them exploited, but because we don't want to deal with them. We don't want to scrutinize them rationally. We hide them from others, but more terribly, we hide them from ourselves. We simplify ourselves to the point where we become so simple we are unable to function and then we suffer, pretending that we are simple.