{"id":9791,"date":"2012-04-16T00:59:54","date_gmt":"2012-04-16T08:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=9791"},"modified":"2013-09-18T08:01:18","modified_gmt":"2013-09-18T16:01:18","slug":"3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways to Tame the Critical Voice Within"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

When you get the urge to take your life in an exciting new direction, do you talk yourself out of doing anything?\u00a0 Suppose you notice an interesting stranger you\u2019d like to meet. \u00a0Do approach them in a friendly manner, or do you stare for a while then turn away?\u00a0 When you set goals or make big plans, do you gear up and get ready to act, or do you quickly change your mind?\u00a0 Do you take chances and calculated risks when a worthy prize presents itself, or do you wait around for the perfect opportunity to knock at the door, walk in, and hop in your lap?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If you\u2019re like a lot of people, you probably drag your feet when faced with the prospect of doing something bold and daring, yet risky.\u00a0 Or maybe you make excuses and hesitate when it\u2019s time to get busy accomplishing a worthwhile, but challenging goal.\u00a0 So why is that we so often engage in acts of self-sabotage when it comes to our best vision, and sink ourselves before we\u2019ve even began?<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re honest, we\u2019ll admit that the very thing that usually stops us in our tracks lives right inside our heads.\u00a0 That\u2019s right; it\u2019s the critical voice within our own psyches.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re intimately familiar with this critical voice.\u00a0 It most likely came into being a long time ago, and it\u2019s probably getting louder all the time. \u00a0This voice constantly draws self-defeating conclusions, paints bleak scenarios, and anticipates the worst from everything and everyone.\u00a0 And you usually listen to it, which serves to puts the brakes on your most ambitious plans.<\/p>\n

So how do we tame this critical inner voice?\u00a0 In other words, how do we get out of our own way on the path to our goals?\u00a0 Listed below are three strategies for silencing the critical inner voice, and advancing in the direction of our desires:<\/p>\n

Realize It May Not Be Your Voice<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you place your critical inner voice under intense scrutiny, you may eventually realize that it\u2019s not even your voice!\u00a0 So whose voice is it that\u2019s always shouting you down?\u00a0 Is it a well-meaning, but negative thinking parent?\u00a0 Could it be a sarcastic teacher from your long-forgotten past?\u00a0 Does it belong to a mean-spirited relative?\u00a0 Or does it sound like society in general, in the form of the messages it sends through the mass media?\u00a0 You know, the messages that insinuate this <\/em>is what it means to be smart, popular, beautiful, intelligent, etc., and you\u2019re not this<\/em>?<\/p>\n

As easy as it sounds, once we divine the origins of this inner voice, we can simply ask ourselves if we want to listen to it\/them anymore.\u00a0 The choice is, and always has been ours.\u00a0 We have a mute button on our television remotes, so why can\u2019t we have one in our minds?\u00a0 We<\/em> gave this inner voice its authority, and we can revoke this authority in an instant.\u00a0 Once freed from the tyranny of this voice, we can start entertaining thoughts that are far more constructive and uplifting than what we used to listen to.<\/p>\n

Have Compassion for the Inner Voice<\/strong><\/p>\n

So what purpose does your critical voice within serve anyway?\u00a0 Is it self-protection or self-preservation?\u00a0 Does it exist to guard you from real or imagined threats?\u00a0 Is its primary job to dissuade you from doing anything that has a risk of failure, especially a failure that could deliver a devastating blow to your self-esteem?<\/p>\n

Once the purpose of your critical inner voice becomes clear, you can adopt a stance of compassion towards it.\u00a0 After all, it\u2019s only attempting to shield you from things that it believes can hurt you.\u00a0 Then, you can thank it for its service.\u00a0 Finally, you can let it go, telling it that you\u2019re going to be ok, and that you\u2019re heading in the direction of your dreams from now on, no matter what.<\/p>\n

Embrace Uncertainty<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the main problems with your critical inner voice is that it\u2019s severely lacking in knowledge, but it holds itself to be some kind of authority.\u00a0 If you think about it, there are always a ton of unknown factors, variables, and possibilities for every situation.\u00a0 We can\u2019t possibly understand, predict, or anticipate every outcome.\u00a0 Yet, the critical inner voice acts as if it is all-knowing, and whispers to us many negative things:\u00a0 \u201cHe\/she wouldn\u2019t find you attractive,\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re not smart enough to earn a college degree,\u201d \u201cThey\u2019ll never hire you for that job,\u201d \u201cYou can\u2019t start your own business,\u201d or \u201cThey don\u2019t give people like you a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what can you do? A better option is to embrace the inherent uncertainty that\u2019s an inescapable part of life. \u00a0You\u2019ve already identified how limited in information the critical inner voice is, and can see that it doesn\u2019t have all the answers.\u00a0 So go on and take the chance, assume the risk, venture out, and place your cards on the table.\u00a0 Be uncertain to what\u2019s going to happen, and do it anyway.<\/p>\n

When you decide to start living this way, you\u2019re in for a huge surprise.\u00a0 Yes, you will have some setbacks and disappointments, but you will also discover a range of possibilities that you never knew existed.\u00a0 All the things that you inner voice told you wasn\u2019t practical, or realistic, or possible will be proven to be utterly false.\u00a0 Ask anyone who is successful, and they will tell that this is always the case.<\/p>\n

So go ahead, embrace uncertainty. \u00a0Great things will happen, and your critical inner voice will slowly lose credibility.\u00a0 When you start ignoring it completely, it\u2019ll pack it bags and move out.\u00a0 Watch and see.<\/p>\n

Learning the truth about your critical inner voice is a journey that few wish to make, but one that everyone needs to embark upon eventually.\u00a0 In fact, it can literally be the difference between being constantly unfulfilled, and living a successful life.\u00a0 Tame your critical inner voice once and for all, and watch your whole world change.\u00a0 You\u2019ll see the old, limited reality you used to dwell in replaced by one far richer, exciting, and more fulfilling than you ever imagined.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Lisa H. Wright is a mother, blogger, runner and happiness seeker. Her blog, Getting to Zen<\/a> inspires personal success through action. In addition to blogging, Lisa is a co-author of Overcoming Fear: Sticking it to What’s Holding You Back<\/a>, a unique program designed to help you get out of your own way and create the life that you want.\u00a0 To read more of Lisa\u2019s articles, visit her blog. Don\u2019t forget to download her free goodies while you are there.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo credit: ‘Rain on Window’<\/a> by Big Stock<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re like a lot of people, you probably drag your feet when faced with the prospect of doing something bold and daring, yet risky. Or maybe you make excuses and hesitate when it\u2019s time to get busy accomplishing a worthwhile, but challenging goal. So why is that we so often engage in acts of self-sabotage when it comes to our best vision, and sink ourselves before we\u2019ve even began? Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":9793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32,21,6],"tags":[1967,693,66,1968,387,1830,4629],"yoast_head":"\n3 Ways to Tame the Critical Voice Within - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So how do we tame this critical inner voice? In other words, how do we get out of our own way on the path to our goals? Listed below are three strategies for silencing the critical inner voice, and advancing in the direction of our desires:\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Ways to Tame the Critical Voice Within - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"So how do we tame this critical inner voice? In other words, how do we get out of our own way on the path to our goals? Listed below are three strategies for silencing the critical inner voice, and advancing in the direction of our desires:\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-16T08:59:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-09-18T16:01:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/ptb-fb-profpic2-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erin Falconer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/bigstock-Rain-on-car-front-window-15364817.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/bigstock-Rain-on-car-front-window-15364817.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/\",\"name\":\"3 Ways to Tame the Critical Voice Within - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-16T08:59:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-09-18T16:01:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5\"},\"description\":\"So how do we tame this critical inner voice? In other words, how do we get out of our own way on the path to our goals? Listed below are three strategies for silencing the critical inner voice, and advancing in the direction of our desires:\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"3 Ways to Tame the Critical Voice Within\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5\",\"name\":\"Erin Falconer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1173c63284b173ff225e5f87a1af5028?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1173c63284b173ff225e5f87a1af5028?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Erin Falconer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/author\/erin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3 Ways to Tame the Critical Voice Within - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","description":"So how do we tame this critical inner voice? In other words, how do we get out of our own way on the path to our goals? Listed below are three strategies for silencing the critical inner voice, and advancing in the direction of our desires:","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"3 Ways to Tame the Critical Voice Within - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","og_description":"So how do we tame this critical inner voice? In other words, how do we get out of our own way on the path to our goals? Listed below are three strategies for silencing the critical inner voice, and advancing in the direction of our desires:","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/","og_site_name":"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain","article_published_time":"2012-04-16T08:59:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-09-18T16:01:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/ptb-fb-profpic2-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary","twitter_creator":"@pickthebrain","twitter_site":"@pickthebrain","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Erin Falconer","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/","name":"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/bigstock-Rain-on-car-front-window-15364817.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/bigstock-Rain-on-car-front-window-15364817.jpg"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/","name":"3 Ways to Tame the Critical Voice Within - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2012-04-16T08:59:54+00:00","dateModified":"2013-09-18T16:01:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5"},"description":"So how do we tame this critical inner voice? In other words, how do we get out of our own way on the path to our goals? Listed below are three strategies for silencing the critical inner voice, and advancing in the direction of our desires:","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-ways-to-tame-the-critical-voice-within\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"3 Ways to Tame the Critical Voice Within"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5","name":"Erin Falconer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1173c63284b173ff225e5f87a1af5028?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1173c63284b173ff225e5f87a1af5028?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Erin Falconer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/author\/erin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9791"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}