In your quiet moments alone, do you find that you have a small voice in the back of your mind? One that tells you that you’re not good enough or can’t achieve your goals. Your inner critic is key to limiting your potential, and your ability to move past this coping mechanism that prompts self-doubt will work wonders in your daily life. Here’s everything you need to know about quieting your inner critic.
What is your inner critic?
Your inner critic comes to you as a coping mechanism. It attempts to prevent pain or harm in any way, shape or form. This could be embarrassment, failure, rejection or the unknown. Your inner critic often instigates self-doubt in situations that it wouldn’t typically occur. For example, if you’re going to meet a new friend for the first time for coffee, it might tell you that your outfit isn’t quite right or that your new friend won’t find you funny or engaging. When in reality these factors may not exist at all, your inner critic is highlighting anything that might cause you to “embarrass” yourself. This can be limiting for anyone and cause them to feel self-conscious or even cancel plans.
How does my inner critic affect me?
Your inner critic is something that constantly tells you that you can’tor shouldn’tdo something. Having to constantly harness that self-doubt or question over and over after you make a decision to move forward is exhausting and overwhelming. Your inner critic ultimately inhibits the energy that you should be putting towards the talent you have inside of you. Thus, quieting your inner critic is necessary for your own growth and progress.
How do I quiet my inner critic?
Let’s face it. You may know that quieting your inner critic is necessary, but it’s often difficult to do like you’re just flipping a switch. You’ll have to actively work to change your negative thoughts into positive ones. Here are a few tactics that can help you do this.
- Identify your negative self-talk.If you’re going to quiet that inner critic, you have to first notice when it’s most active. When do you hear that voice? Why does it happen? What does it say? That first time you actively notice it say, “I never do anything right,” or “You can’t do that,” make sure you take note. This is important so that you can help stop it in future incidences.
- Meditate. Meditation can help actively change how your brain works and allow you to create a general state of wellness in your life. Integrating it into your everyday routine can help make that difference in negative self-thoughts.
- Practice. It’s unlikely that you’ll improve your negative self-talk instantly. It takes time for us to learn and grow in self-love and to allow our behavior to reflect it. As you practice identifying negative self-thoughts, meditate, and affirm yourself positively, your brain will eventually rewire itself to make this it’s “normal.” The more you practice, the more success you’ll ultimately find!
For more on rewiring and revamping your brain for a more positive day-to-day, read How to Change Negative Thoughts into Positive Thoughts.
Final thoughts
The inner critic is a coping mechanism that looks to protect you from harm or embarrassment, but it ultimately inhibits growth and overall well-being. Instead of battling your inner critic daily, banish it entirely and learn to live without that small voice summoning doubt into the back of your mind. Freedom and confidence are just around the corner!
