How to make peace with your inner critic

Do you get down on yourself?

Do you feel like your own worst enemy?

Have you ever been bursting with inspiration, bursting with ideas, but struggled to get motivated or bring them fully to form, and then said unkind things to yourself?

I know I have.

I was so unkind, so mean to myself. I truly believe our inner critic says the worst stuff about us.

Our inner critic is a defence mechanism.

It’s a story we tell ourselves to block our greatness. It can keep us working in jobs we hate, staying in relationships that are toxic and earning less income than our potential.

But there is definitely a way through.

And I am not talking about doing back-to-back Pilates or spinning classes, sitting in meditation for hours each day, racing off to an ashram, or making yourself drink super green juice daily.

There’s a more grounded, fun way to make peace with yourself.

When you make peace with your inner critic, you can increase your confidence and self-esteem, and this gives you back your power. It can help you reconnect with your potential.

Many of you may experience the inner critic so frequently that engaging with it positively feels uncomfortable and difficult.

Go easy on yourself.

In periods of change and transition, we often vacillate. That’s par for the course.

Recognise that when you experience doubt and fear, it may be a signal that you are touching on something important and necessary for your personal growth.

To transform your relationship with the inner critic, you need to become more conscious of it and learn how to respond to it differently.

I’m talking about more awareness than ever before.

Do you want to continue allowing your inner voice to run the show and speak victory into your life, or defeat? The choice is yours.

Action step: Create a name for your inner critic and a name for your alter ego. For example, my inner critic is Bertie and my alter ego is Fierce Annie. When my inner critic Bertie starts chattering away, I ask my alter ego Fierce Annie to please escort Bertie off the premises.

Then Fierce Annie says over and over: “I know. I feel. I believe. I am powerful.”