Hey champ,
Maybe it’s being a new Mum, or maybe it’s been prompted by some of the conversations happening inside School of Champions – but I’ve been thinking a lot about self-talk lately.
You know what I mean by self-talk, right? It’s the way you talk to yourself – the words you use and the things you say to yourself – either out loud or in your own head. Kinda obvious name really! ?
It’s a powerful thing, self-talk. It can make or break us.
Now, there’s one particularly infamous character when it comes to self-talk – your inner critic.
If you’ve ever listened to the conversations you have with yourself or noticed the negative things you say to yourself, your inner critic is the negative little voice in those conversations.
For example, maybe you make a mistake at work and you think “You’re so stupid, you never do anything right”.
That’s your inner critic speaking.
You might recognise your inner critic from such films as I’m Gonna Die Alone, I’m The Ugliest Person Alive and Nobody Likes You. Sound familiar?! ?
Your inner critic is a total hypochondriac and it feeds on stress and fear and overwhelm. It’s gonna tell you that quitting your job will wreck your life, or that moving countries will destroy your relationships.This is exactly the kind of self talk you’ve gotta change, and I’ve got something that can help.
It’s a pretty simple tip but I reckon it can change the whole damn game.
You ready?
Next time you say something negative to yourself, like in the example above, I want you to stop and ask yourself “Is that true?”.
Then, I want you to find evidence that proves your inner critic is lying. In this example, you’d need to list three things you’ve done that prove that actually, yes, you can do things right, thank you very much.
Now, a word of caution, the minute you ask yourself the question “Is that true”, your brain is going to start flinging up all kinds of examples that prove that your inner critic is right. You’ll remember all the other times you’ve made a mistake, and all the other times you’ve felt stupid.
Your job is to enter the debate.
It can be boiled down to something really simple: you always find what you’re looking for.
So look for the evidence that makes you feel best.
After all, your thoughts are just thoughts. Not facts. – Tweet it.
So, remember, next time your inner critic makes a bold, negative statement about yourself, just ask “Is that true?” and go in to bat for yourself.
Turia xx
PS – Know someone currently battling with their inner critic? Share this blog with them.
Thank you