Tips for Recognizing Your Inner Critic

Let’s expand upon the concept of how to recognize your inner critic. After all, if you don’t know when this mean internal voice is sabotaging you, how can you address it?

 

While everyone’s critic is different, there are some commonalities you can observe to give you the heads up that you may be telling yourself some things that aren’t true. Be aware of these patterns in order to recognize your inner critic.

 

Harsh Words

Your inner critic is often not very nice. That’s obvious. However, this voice tends to go beyond just being unkind. It can be downright mean. When you notice yourself having thoughts that are particularly harsh, take note. It’s probably your inner critic.

 

It’s okay to give yourself some constructive feedback and to strive to do better sometimes, but your inner critic’s language is not usually productive encouraging and kind. It’ tends to bring you down which can often hold you back.  You must find ways to reframe, and dispel what it is saying to you.

 

Unfair Comparisons

Your inner critic is also fantastic at comparing your abilities, possessions, and life to those of other people. These comparisons are never fair or just. Rather, they always tell you that someone else is better than you or that you’ll never measure up. Again, these messages don’t do anything to serve you and you should try and ignore them. Your only competition is yourself.

 

Repetitive Messages

As noted, that bullying inner voice tends to say the same things again and again. When you find yourself ruminating on a less-than-desirable trait or agonizing over past events again and again, find a way to interrupt those thoughts. Tell yourself to stop. Take a break and try to look at things more realistically. Your inner critic repeats these harmful messages as a way of sabotaging you. The more you tell yourself these words, the more likely you are to believe them. This is definitely a case for reframing a negative message to a more realistic and positive one.

 

Not in Your Best Interests

Finally, it’s important to emphasize once more that your inner critic sees its role as to keep you in your zone of comfort. It is not an advocate for you to take risks, or to try something new.  It is not speaking up for your goals or best interests. It’s not a tool that works to help you do better.

 

So, although we may want to “shut up” our inner critic, (perhaps silence would have been a better word), you don’t want to go around fighting with yourself when it comes to this issue.   The same way that you wouldn’t be critical of a friend if you wanted to encourage or lift them up, that’s how you need to be with yourself.

 

So, please try to be gentle with yourself when dealing with this issue and see addressing your inner critic as an act of self-love and self-empowerment.

 

These tips for recognizing your inner critic will serve you well as you pursue this journey of becoming stronger and more in charge of your thoughts.

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