What was I thinking?  I could have done that so much better. What’s wrong with me? I’m just going to fail again. I am not good enough.

I can’t imagine many things I would like to say SHUT UP to, but the inner critic falls on that short list. This all-too-familiar voice pops up inside our heads to put us down for not living up to certain standards. It’s like some uninvited inner cop who is there just to tell us we are doing something wrong. But are we really?  I don’t think so. Nonetheless, these voices are powerful and only do more harm than good.

By listening to our inner critic, we are restricted to limited possibilities for ourselves. So why do we do it?  In short, it’s an unconscious mechanism we’ve developed (and dare I say reinforced) over the course of our lives that keep us stuck in old habit patterns. But the good news is we are in charge of what we think about and say to ourselves. So, here are some ways to tell your inner critic to shut up. (more…)