Learn How To Silence Your Inner Critic & Dial Up Your Inner Cheerleader
Are you familiar with your inner critic and the stories they’re playing on repeat? Have you ever experienced a nagging, hyper-critical inner voice that tells you everything you think, feel, and do is wrong? That scared, fearful part of you who’s trying to keep you safe but is actually holding you back from achieving your dreams and fulfilling your deepest desires?
Those negative thoughts and the inner dialogue accompanying them come from our hyper vigilant inner critic, whose primary role is keeping us safe. While it has good intentions, this inner critic often becomes a barrier to us stepping outside our comfort zones and pursuing our goals.
Meet Maud…
Our brain has a specialised part, the reticular activating system (RAS), that acts as a filter. I call mine ‘Maud’ because it feels like an apt ‘grumpy-old-biddy’ name. Maud determines the information we’re conscious of at any given moment, prioritising anything necessary to keep us safe. Importantly, she also dictates how we sort, filter, and delete information based on past experiences and what we want to avoid.
Maud, our inner critic, is terrified that others will judge her as harshly as she judges herself. She’s an expert at finding fault with herself and justifying why she believes she is unworthy, incapable, or not good enough – despite your deepest desires and ample evidence of past successes.
Practising Perfection or…?
From early childhood, typically between the ages of 0 and 7 years old, we acquire and rehearse a library of stories about our worth and capabilities. These stories may be learned, inferred, or based on literal experiences with key adults.
Are you aware of any old stories you tell yourself?
They may include highlights like ‘you can’t do that’, ‘you’re not good enough’, or ‘who am I to be/do/have…?’
These stories stay with us, and our unconscious mind treats them as truths, rehearsing them repeatedly over the years, especially in similar situations.
We’re practised at noticing what we’re doing ‘wrong’. Positives are barely recognised and often dismissed as luck or a fluke.
The Stress Cycle Response
Our body feels every thought we think. The mind-body connection is so strong that we have physical responses to our thoughts and beliefs, even if they’re not consciously experienced. This is how stressful, negative thoughts affect our bodies.
- Fear-based Thought: ‘I’m not good enough.’
- Associated Emotion: ‘Who am I to…?’
- Biochemical Response: Triggers changes in the brain, involving the prefrontal cortex and amygdala.
- Resulting Actions/Behaviour: Inability to think logically, creatively or rationally.
The Curse of Evolutionary Negativity Bias
Our brain tends to focus more on negative events due to its evolutionary need for safety. This leads to a tendency to focus on what we’ve done wrong rather than recognising our successes.
What does negativity bias cost us?
This way of ‘being’ (thinking/feeling/behaving/reacting) is exhausting. It holds us back emotionally, physically, spiritually, and financially. It leaves us feeling tired and stressed and may even lead to burnout. I’m sure you’ll agree, this cost is just too high!
7 Easy Steps to Tame Your Inner Critic & Tune Into Your Inner Cheerleader
- Aware: Notice your inner critic’s dialogue and how it affects your body.
- Pause: Don’t indulge in negative self-talk; release bodily tension.
- Allow: Permit the moment, thoughts, and feelings to pass.
- Avoid: Avoid attaching meaning to negative thoughts and feelings.
- Breathe: Practise deep breathing to calm your body.
- Gratitude: Thank Maud for trying to keep you safe, tell her ‘I’ve got this’.
- Choose: Opt for empowering thoughts and actions.
How to use the 7 steps
When you notice self-critical thoughts (Aware), objectively observe them – note how and what you feel in your body (Pause). Allow the thought to pass without judgment (Allow and Avoid). Breathe into any areas of tension in your body and actively relax that area as you exhale (Breathe). Then, thank yourself for the awareness (Gratitude) and choose a more empowering belief (Choose).
Why master these 7 steps
These steps are deceptively simple yet extremely powerful. They provide a framework that enables us to:
- Rewire the brain
- Rewire the body
- Reset the nervous system
- Build new neural pathways
- Form new, more positive habits
- Create new responses
- Manifest a completely new, more positive way of being.
Final Thought: Why Neuroplasticity Is Your BFF
Neuroplasticity allows our brain to rewire itself. By practising these steps, we can reprogram Maud’s conditioned responses and cultivate a more supportive inner voice. With repetition and practise, we can become our own biggest cheerleaders.
Mastering these steps can help you rewire your brain, reset your nervous system, and build a more positive way of being. You’ve got this! Once you’ve mastered these 7 simple yet powerful steps, they’ll always be available to you and help you feel confident, grounded, and certain – no matter what comes your way.
To further embed this practice and accelerate your journey to a more empowered and positive mindset, add a guided hypnotherapy session to your daily routine. Listening to my Silence Your Inner Critic and Dial In Your Inner Cheerleader pre-recorded HypnoTrack, designed specifically to reinforce these steps daily. It will help you truly conquer your inner critic and turn up the volume on your inner cheerleader.
Ready to transform your inner dialogue? Click here to pre-order your daily HypnoTrack and take the next step towards a more confident you.
Better yet, there’s still time to join my “Silence Your Inner Critic & Amplify Your Inner Cheerleader” group hypno session in person via Zoom. Use the link below to book and receive 25% off your ticket.
You’ve got this!
