How do you respond when your inner critic pops up?
Do you notice when it comes up & what triggers it? Or is it so much a part of you that you barely register it?
Do you find yourself getting sucked in to believing the stories it tells you, almost as if they were a fact? Do you find yourself wanting to react as though they were true?
If you try to “talk back” to your inner critic, do you find you just end up in an endless struggle between what is true and what is false? Do you find your inner critic usually wins? How does this leave you feeling? Try following these 6 steps to respond rather than react to an inner critic… it’s difficult but gets easier with practice.
By giving your critic a name and concretely pinning down common triggers & criticisms, you are helping to separate yourself from it, to learn that it is not you. In fact, it is rather repetitive & predictable.
By connecting with your Wise Mind you are bringing out the wisdom you already have about how else to view the situation. By allowing both perspectives to co-exist, not judging or reacting to either one, & not getting into a struggle, you are taking the power out of the critical voice.
By focusing on your body and breath, you are allowing your brain to move out of the Threat Mode triggered by the critic, and back into Rest & Digest mode. Then you can focus on concrete actions that actually matter right now.
If you find it difficult & start to criticise yourself, just notice that too. It’s your critic again! Remind yourself you’re building new, healthy neural pathways to provide an alternative to those well-worn paths.
What do you think? Let me know below.