Self-Limiting Beliefs and Your Inner Critic

Quite often, our own thoughts can hinder us from reaching our personal and professional goals.

Our inner voice, or inner critic, can be more damaging than any criticism from others! Your very own negative self-talk can overwhelm you with feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, leading to self-limiting beliefs.

How Does An Inner Critic Develop?

Negative self-talk can stem from a variety of sources. It can start in early childhood, through learned behaviors, peer pressure, strict upbringing, striving for excellence and perfectionist influences from others, and more.

This self-criticism becomes ingrained in your way of thinking.

Common examples of what your inner voice might say to you include things such as:

• ‘You are just not good enough, so why bother.’

• ‘You can’t succeed, you are nothing but a loser.’

• ‘Nobody appreciates your efforts or cares what you do.’

All these negative statements need to be ignored and positive ones need to replace them as soon as possible!

Having a persistent, nagging inner critic damages your self-esteem and confidence. It can create too much pressure and stress.

Tolerating negative self-talk can defeat whatever positivity you have about yourself and others.

It can cause you to become self-critical and make you quit trying to complete your goals.

If self-criticism controls your actions or the lack of them, it can impede your growth and full potential in all aspects of your life.

How Do You Control Your Inner Critic?

Having a high level of self-esteem is linked to higher life satisfaction, relationship, and work success, and a healthy mind and body.

You can learn to control how you see yourself and be aware of your inner critic when it begins to ‘talk’ negatively to you.

Be Aware of The Signs

When emotions take a sudden downturn, and you find yourself caught in a wave of distress, pause to acknowledge the subtle shift within you.

This transformation, often orchestrated by your inner critic, warrants your attention.

Upon recognizing this inner influence, trace its origins back to its source, dissecting the thoughts that led to this new mood.

Purposefully choose to disregard its undermining chat. In this act of mindful defiance, you engage in an inner dialogue of empowerment.

Challenge the negative undertones with the resolve to embrace your best interests positively!

Disengage In Negative Self-Talk and Shift Direction

If a mistake is continually replayed in your mind and you cannot stop thinking about it, shift the direction of your thoughts by doing other things, such as taking a walk or listening to music.

You can also talk with a professional if you can’t shift your destructive inner thoughts into constructive ones.

Practice Self-Compassion

Treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding you would offer to a friend. Cultivate self-compassion by acknowledging that everyone makes mistakes and faces challenges.

Embrace your imperfections as part of your unique journey.

Look For The Humor And Laugh More

When you are in a stressful situation, and you can laugh at yourself, you allow more self-compassion to flourish. It helps to make things less emotionally damaging and your inner critic less powerful.

Remember the things that make you laugh, such as your favorite jokes and memes, pets, or children. There is always something to smile about, so look for it!

In Summary

You can take control of your inner critic and stop self-limiting beliefs by applying the steps above. When you learn to view the negative voice in your head as not your genuine self, and you change your habitual reactions, it can stop controlling you.

Start practicing right now! Say some beautiful words about yourself and believe them! It won’t take long before you do.

Want to eliminate your limiting belief for good? Learn how here.