Inner Coach or Critic – How Could It Be Impacting You?

Have you ever listened objectively to your inner voice?

Here’s why you should start paying attention to it.

It impacts your self-worth, self-belief and wellbeing (more than you might think) as well as your performance.

Take a moment and consider:

• What language and tone do you use?
• Does it sound like a supportive friend, or a harsh critic?

If it’s the latter, working on your inner voice is a must.

Imagine a situation when you don’t achieve your desired outcome.

You did your best, based on your current skills and knowledge, and you gave it your best shot.

Now imagine your inner voice as a critic.

You beat yourself up about not being good enough, underperforming, letting everyone down etc and that triggers anxiety, stress, sadness, disappointment etc, emotions that are focussed on what you haven’t achieved, rather than what you want to achieve.

Is that a good strategy?

It might feel appropriate, but it isn’t the best use of your attention and energy.

To optimise your results and energy, you need to generate emotions that move you forward such as excitement, hope, curiosity etc

This doesn’t mean you can’t ‘critique’ yourself, it’s more about how you do it.

Transform your inner voice from critic to coach and:

• Acknowledge what you did well (to ensure you repeat those things) 
• Clarify what’s important and what you would like to achieve
• Identify the gaps for you to work on; and 
• Encourage yourself (rather than punish yourself) to move forward and take action

This focuses your attention and energy on what matters and will produce the best results as well as improving how you feel and your health and wellbeing.

Need more inspiration? 

Watch this video that shows how different ways of talking to plants impacts how they grow.

Now, imagine how your inner critic could be impacting your growth.