The voice inside of us that makes us question ourselves can be a difficult one to silence, especially if you have spent a long time listening to this criticism without question.
It can often seem as though this voice has a negative opinion on just about everything that you do. And, even though you may know that this voice isn’t the most reasonable one to listen to, it will often be the loudest and therefore difficult to ignore.
Your inner critic knows your insecurities and will play off these self-doubts in order to hold you back. This can have a rapid detrimental effect on your mood. It can also squash your beliefs about your own abilities as the consistency and the intensity of this voice persists.
It is possible to take steps to silence your inner critic, and in doing so you will be better allowing your confidence to grow as your happiness shines.
So, how can you get started?
Question Your Motives
The first thing that you can do to understand and begin to silence your inner critic, is to question the reasons why it is focusing on certain things. Perhaps your inner critic speaks the loudest when you are thinking about changing careers or embarking upon a new healthy eating plan.
This voice might attempt to deter you by making you feel as if you are only going to fail anyway, so why try? If this is the case, then your motive for giving this voice a platform might be because you believe this to be true. By spending some time contemplating your skills, abilities and past successes, you can strive to silence this voice.
Observe Without Acceptance
Yes, your inner critic can be loud, persistent and discouraging, but it is just one voice among many. If you have positive feelings about something, do not allow this one lone internal opinion to have the final say.
Observe the points raised by your inner critic, address them and then move on. You are not obliged to heed the advice of this negative voice, even if it continues to find problems with your plans or ideas.
Always Have an Answer
One of the reasons that our inner critic is able to throw us off course is that we are often unable to find valid reasons to dispute this negativity. Spend some time assessing the reasons this voice is giving you for not doing something, and then write down a rebuttal to each point.
Call upon this positive response every time the negative point is raised by your inner critic. You will soon find that this voice starts to back down in the face of reason.
Be Kind to Yourself
If you are not giving yourself the love and positive attention that you deserve, then of course your inner critic is going to be able to take hold. Negativity thrives where negativity already exists.
You don’t have to wait for this voice to pipe up before giving yourself a dose of kindness and it is a fantastic idea to do so at several points throughout each day.
Remind yourself of the things that others like about you and of occasions in the past where you have been helpful, kind, supportive and generous. These moments of kindness to others and to yourself are the things that define you, not the brief imposing moments of negativity from within.
Being able to silence your inner critic for good might seem like an accomplishment that is unreachable, but when you take the time to nurture yourself and understand your thought processes, it becomes much more obtainable.
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