How to silence your inner critic

Often times we don’t think about how much our inner dialogues are effecting us: our thoughts can act like catalysts as well as chances that keep us from reaching our goals. We might not even see that the only person holding us back is, in fact, our inner critic.

Your thoughts have the power to make or break you. Just think about all those times you said you couldn’t and didn’t even try. It’s much easier to believe that something is too hard or impossible to do than actually trying to make it happen. You are responsible for controlling your thoughts for your thoughts are just as powerful as your words.

Make sure you know that your inner critic might be wrong

You might not think to question what your inner voice is saying but when it comes to your self-confidence, you must think twice who you listen to. If you fail to filter what your inner voice is telling you, you’ll never overcome your own obstacles. Take a deep breath and try to reevaluate the situation the next time you’re feeling down - your negative thoughts might try to cloud your judgement. Our inner critic tends to remember all the bad things that have happened to us and use those experiences against us so you must be careful when you hear that discouraging voice again.

Let go of your past failures

Going over things in your head over and over again thinking what you could have done differently is pointless. If you feel like you’re stuck, try taking a walk or doing some exercise to clear your head - distracting yourself might actually do you some good. Leaving your place of despair will help you find a new perspective and see things differently.

Think of yourself as a friend

When you’re about to start your destructive inner dialogue of miserably you’ve failed, try to think about what you’d say to a friend in a similar situation. You might be very likely to say something along the lines of how we all make mistakes so instead of beating yourself up, try something a little more encouraging. If you would say what you’re about to tell yourself to a friend, you’d better change your inner dialogue - you might decide to go easy on yourself this time.

Write

Next time you’re overcome by negativity, try to understand why you’re having those horrible thoughts. Write your inner dialogue down the time you’re thinking you’ll never reach your goals - you might see how ridiculous and unreasonable you’re being with yourself. It’s easier to be more objective once you have everything written down.

Think about how awful it’d be if all those things were actually true

You’re not supposed to say things about yourself that you don’t want to see come true. Don’t say you’re a horrible person and nobody loves you or you’d lose your family and friends if you lost your job… Do not be absurd. Talk to yourself in a positive way and tell yourself that you’re strong enough to stand up even you fail. It sounds much better, doesn’t it?

Find a balance between acceptance and trying to be better

Do yourself a favor and accept that you can’t change your past. What’s done is done but you can focus on being better in the future. Remember, change takes time but dwelling on your past will not help you move forward so it’s high time you started thinking about your future.

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