Several years ago I wrote a self-coaching guide to Quietening Your Inner Critic. It is one of the most common issues that comes up in my coaching work at one point or another and it was a very popular download. Over the last few weeks I’ve been revisiting some of the resources I have created and have been doing a bit of updating.
If you aren’t familiar with the concept of an inner critic it is one of the names given to the negative, often self-deprecating thoughts that the majority of us experience at some point in our lives. For some people it crops up from time to time whereas for others it can become an almost constant backdrop to their thinking.
When listened to it has the potential to hold us back from taking on a new challenge. It can reduce our self-esteem by belittling our attributes, skills and expertise. It says things to us that we wouldn’t dream of saying to our friends.
- You can’t do that.
- You can’t say that.
- There’s no point in trying you won’t be able to do it
- What makes you think you’re good enough to do that?
- You know if you try it will go wrong.
- You’re not as good as other people
If any of the above feels familiar click the link below and download the workbook. It provides an introduction to the concept of the inner critic and how, in a rather misguided way it is trying to protect us from harm. It then provides a series of short exercises designed to help you reduce the volume of the negative self-talk. Firstly, to encourage you start to recognise when you slip into inner critic mode and secondly to support you in shifting your thinking when you find yourself in that place.
Quietening You Inner Critic Workbook