How to stand up to your inner critic!

<p>The most powerful way of learning to disempower our inner critic is to stand up to it!</p> <p>This approach entails identifying the inner critic, labeling it, observing what it does without judgment, and then letting it go.</p> <p>Whenever we recognize the voice of our inner critic, we may practice thinking “<em>Thank you, inner critic.</em>” When it bombards us with unhelpful thoughts, we can resolve not to take the content of these thoughts too seriously. We may say, “<em>Here is the inner critic again, doing its dirty work.</em>”</p> <p>Even better, come up with a more specific name for it. We could call it the judge, the saboteur, the wolf, the demon, or whatever label fits with the unique ways in which it tends to wreak havoc in our heads.</p> <p>When we observe it in action, we may want to remind ourselves that our thoughts are just words and that our beliefs are just that: beliefs, not facts. They are nothing more than the unhelpful noise of our endlessly chattering minds. We are not those thoughts – we can defuse ourselves from them.</p> <p>There is a massive difference between thinking “<em>I am ugly and stupid</em>,” and thinking “<em>My inner critic suggests I am ugly and stupid</em>.” That way, we can create distance between the thought and us, and observe the thought more objectively.</p> <p>Our inner critics – whatever we may call them – have a powerful influence over our inner lives. They determine not just our overall psychological wellbeing, but also how successful we are.</p> <p>The original function of our critical inner voice was to protect us from danger, but later in life negative self-talk can become a major maladaptive habit with wide-ranging negative repercussions. But merely by noticing and labeling these critical inner voices, and practicing the psychological strategies outlined in this article that resonate most with us, we can significantly weaken their impact.</p> <p>If our inner critic were a person, we would avoid them like the plague. They would no doubt fall into the category