We all have this inner voice that often keeps us from making changes. Sometimes it is a fear of failure and sometimes it is a fear of success. It could be holding us back from starting a new home-based business, meeting new challenges or learning new skills. Often our inner critic drains our energy, creating self-doubt and low self-esteem. The inner critic is like an overprotective mom who wants the best for us but holds us back in the process.
Look at the following scenarios and see if you identify with them:
1. You are about to interview a potential team member and offer your business opportunity, when in the back of your mind you hear a voice that says, "They are already successful in their current career, why even bother?"
2. You have just started to phone and invite friends and relatives to a presentation when the inner voice says, "Your friends are already busy with their lives. You will just make them feel obligated and uncomfortable."
3. You have built a successful business and you are ready to leave your day job when you hear, "That is way too risky; you will never make it in this economy!"
This inner voice that puts a damper on your good ideas has you doubting yourself. It is a voice that is with us throughout our every day.It tells us who we are and how we are doing, and defines and interprets our every experience. It works very hard to get us to accept its interpretations as our reality.
Become A Leader and View Your Inner Critic in a Positive Way
To become a leader you must practice noticing when the inner critic shows up for you; which events trigger its arrival. Recognize how it makes you feel and how it influences your decisions to go forward or to pull back from what you truly want. Once you have observed your own inner voice, begin to recognize when the inner voice shows up for your team members. Watch them as they conduct their first business opportunity presentation; their inner critic is probably right there!
As a good leader, it is important to be able to identify the arrival of the inner critic and help your team member to understand how to deal with it. By sharing your understanding with your team member, you will be able to support them in observing and moving past the fears and doubts created by this inner voice.
Your success and the success of your team are determined by your ability to transform the inner critic from foe to friend. These six steps will help you learn how to do this.
1. List three messages you hear frequently from your inner voice and describe how these messages make your feel.
2. Personify the inner voice through naming, drawing or describing.
3. Choose your responses carefully. Choose to disconnect from the inner critic so you can distinguish fact from illusion.
4. Affirm you true strengths, accomplishments and qualities to reprogram the inner voice's negative messages into positive affirming messages.
5. Have a meaningful dialogue with your inner voice to understand it and create a healthy relationship with it; one that supports your reaching your potential.
6. Be the observer; do not judge. Become proactive rather than reactive.
Practice these steps and you will begin to develop a more lighthearted relationship with your inner critic. Take responsibility for responding to it in the way that serves you best. You will gradually notice the inner voice quiet down and you will recognize that you are safe and capable of taking care of yourself!
I am a firm believer in maintaining an active lifestyle. There are no magic bullets to good health. Eating the right foods, getting plenty of exercise and of course spending quality time with loved ones. I have been truly blessed with many people in my life. Understanding myself and building relationships is rewarding in so many ways.