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This concept is a complex topic for most people.  It is normal to struggle with that annoying voice inside your head.  Cognitive dissonance occurs when you know the right things to do yet find difficulty doing them.  Eating better, more exercise, and better rest are some prominent examples.  You can quickly become critical of yourself with these and other issues in your life.  The secret to a positive self-image is understanding where your negative self-image comes from and reacting differently.

Your inner critic is that voice inside your head.  You are not good enough, smart enough, or thin enough.  In some cases, it makes you think you are an imposter when you are successful.  You feed the critic by allowing it to fester in your mind.  The secret is to get these thoughts into your consciousness and be aware of what you are telling yourself.  It is crucial to get this thinking into the light by exploring your darkest ideas about yourself.

“[Your inner critic] developed to protect your vulnerability by helping you to adapt to the world around you and to meet its requirements, whatever they might be…. It makes you acceptable to others by criticizing and correcting your behavior before other people could criticize or reject you. In this way, it reasoned, it could earn love and protection for you as well as save you much shame and hurt.” – Hal Stone

One way to mitigate the inner critic is to honor it.  Everyone’s inner critic is both well-intentioned and unprepared to serve you well in life. Your inner critic must mature and become self-aware for you to teach it how to adapt to the competent, effective leader you need to become. Invite the inner critic to reveal itself to you.  Determine what gives you wise counsel and listen.

According to Lisa Firestone with Psychology Today, when we fail to identify and separate from this inner critic, we allow it to impact our behavior and shape the direction of our lives. It may sabotage our successes or our relationships, preventing us from living the lives we want to lead and becoming the people we seek to be.

Another way to tame your inner critic is to...

Finish Reading About Your Inner Critic