How to Silence Your Inner Critic

Ah the inner critic.

That nagging voice in the back of your mind which constantly regurgitates all manner of doubts and criticism. You may hear it in the voice of a parent, a teacher, an older sibling…. No matter what ‘voice’ it sounds like it’s always negative, unsupportive, and makes you hesitate, and constantly second-guess yourself. It’s like a constantly-running dialogue whilst you’re trying to focus on what you need to do.

As a result you squirm and try to think harder as you’re performing the task, trying to counter-act the criticism by being careful “not to say it like that”, or “to sit up straight”,  or “don’t let them think that about you”.

“Nobody want to listen to you”, “who wants to hear your opinion”… “look they’re bored”, “you should have said it like that”… nag, nag, nag.

Your inner critic has a lot to answer for. It’s been constantly running your life, putting you on edge and making you feel like a second class citizen for, well…EVER!

You’re Not Alone

Sometimes it feels like you’re the only one to ever doubt yourself. It’s easy to believe you’re the only one who can’t visualise the result you’re after. Sometimes it feels like you only ever have the worst case scenario play out in your mind in full technicolour in those quiet moments before you go to sleep, instead of being able to program yourself with what you actually want. And sure, sometimes you probably assume that your doubts are way bigger than anyone else’s… after all, if they weren’t you could imagine how much else you would achieve…

Well, it’s truth time.

You’re not the only one to doubt yourself.

You’re not the only one who can only see the “bad” scenario happening, when all you really want is the “good” one to happen.

And no, you’re doubts aren’t any bigger or more powerful than anyone else’s.

Hey, I know this is tough to hear. The thing is, you don’t read my stuff just to feel good, right? You read it because you’re ready to adjust your inner world and get to the truth so you can function more effectively… Am I right? 😉

Ok, now for the good news.

If you’ve achieved anything in your life, you’ve done well… because you’ve done it despite the constant racket of your inner critic in the back of your mind. So first of all, bravo.

Go on; give yourself full credit for your achievement, because really, you deserve it!

The Second Piece Of Good News

What if I told you that you could silence your personal inner critic…. forever!

The truth is you can, but it takes hard work, and constant dedication. So, let’s just weigh this up so you can make a decision about what you really want to do.

Here’s my first suggestion.

First suggestion:

List out all the things you can be, do or have if you didn’t have an inner critic there, constantly taking you out of the game?

And no, we’re not talking about the voice of common-sense, or the one that stops you cashing in your ISAs and flying off to Vegas for a week-long splurge. I’m just talking about the inner-critic, that makes you feel insecure and doubtful about what you can do….

Ok, so make that list. All the things you can be, do or have, if only you had the confidence.

Done it?

Good.

Now, on to the second part of this exercise….

Second suggestion:

Have a think about how hard you’ve worked and efforted in order to make the progress you have made thus far. Think of the sacrifices, the times you spent on training instead of holidays, the time you spent at your computer instead of with your friends and family and all the hours you’ve spent bashing your head in frustration trying to make bigger gains in your business.

Got a sense of that now?

Great.

Now, if you could have all of the things in the first list, and get rid of all the struggle, and sacrifice, and frustration from the second one, would that be worth a bit of focussed short term effort?

If yes, keep reading.

If no – go back to your episode of Family Guy, or whatever you use to distract yourself from the pressures of the world 😉 (Hey, no criticism here, we all do it – just make sure you’re doing it consciously!)

Here’s How To Erase That Inner Critic From Your Ear For Good

1. Get au fait with how to do the letting go process… You can learn about it in this webinar here.
2. Spend half an hour a day writing down the things you’ve beaten yourself up about during the day.
3. Go back through the list of things you’ve written and decide whether each one can be seen as either wanting approval, wanting control or wanting to be safe.
4. Whichever want you decide each is ask yourself the three questions: could you let go of that want? If you could, would you? And when is a good time?
5. Allow yourself to let go of all the wants around each item, and feel lighter each time.
6. Do this process every day for 30 days… and then email me and let me know the result. I’m here to help if you get stuck too. Just reach out!

Here’s what I’m expecting you’ll find.

1. Your Inner critic will be silenced. No more nagging, no more making you feel bad, no more beating yourself up.
2. You will have greater freedom and control over your life, because you won’t be constantly having to manage those horrible, uncomfortable feelings, or worrying about doing something that is ultimately going to make you feel worse.
3. You’ll be able to live more boldly, because through this process you will realise that no matter what happens you will still be able to cope – because you will know how to deal with ANY feeling that ever comes up… instantly. 🙂

So here’s the question of the hour: What are you waiting for?

 Set a note in your calendar or phone to remind you to do it every single day.

I can’t wait to hear about your results!

 Remember, I’m at the end of an email, or a comment below, and I’m here to help.

Just reach out 😉

To Your Inevitable Success!

Laura xx

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