Bam! Mic drop! These words really caught my attention: “You can’t criticize yourself into changing!”
During a recent road trip, my husband and I were listening to a podcast by Jay Shetty known as ON PURPOSE. The topic was “The Inner Critic”. The following are the notes I felt compelled to write down and share with you all today:
1. You can’t criticize yourself into changing. No amount of shame or guilt will actually create change. We can’t embarrass ourselves into changing.- 2. We change when someone believes in us, or we discover a better way! The kinder and more constructive you are to yourself the more likely you are to change. Don’t analyze, or beat yourself up; rather use more productive words: “Ok, next time I’ll do this!” or, “Let me watch someone do what I am thinking/dreaming of doing! If they can, I can!”
- 3. Make a plan for improvement. Greatness and growth come out of a decision to be better and do better.
- 4. Your inner critic is likely to be an old unexamined voice from the past. It may serve you to get in touch with that original voice and negotiate a truce. Consider saying to yourself, “Hey, don’t beat me up! Let’s be proactively positive and make a plan to improve!”
- 5. Be careful whose voice you allow into your head! Rather than take every comment at face value, evaluate what the truth is and consciously decide what you’re going to believe about yourself and your life!
- 6. Admit you may have some toxic thinking stuck in a mental loop. Once you identify nonproductive thoughts, you have the potential to erase or replace those thoughts.
- 7. Recognize the power of I AM statements. Release statements such as “I am lazy; I am such a klutz; I am never going to figure out how to start my own business”. Replace your I AM statements with, “I am a fast learner; I am a willing student of life! I am willing to do what’s needed to do my dream and follow my destined path!”
- 8. Retrain your inner voice to become your ‘Inner Coach!’ Imagine your Higher Self watching as you go through your day, your life! From a place of ‘witness consciousness’, observe the changes needed and talk to yourself the way you would a budding coach, healer, therapist, teacher, and entrepreneur. Take a deep breath. Focus! Once you get clarity, the universe begins to conspire with you to help things go your way.
- 9. Give yourself grace versus second-guessing yourself!
- 10. Celebrate the small improvements, more and longer rather than overthinking your errors.
- 11. When you do something well, journal about it to magnify and reinforce the win! Be your own best cheerleader! This is not being arrogant; it’s harnessing the neuroscience of positivity.
Jay Shetty is a New York Times best-selling author, a wildly popular podcast host featured on Spotify, and founder of one of the fastest-growing life coaching programs in the world. His inspirational podcast aligns with SWIHA values and life coaching concepts. Do you feel called to help others? Our Life Coaching program provides the education and training you need to help your clients find their purpose or passion, expand their awareness, improve their performance, overcome obstacles, and, ultimately, enhance their quality of life. Silence your inner critic and unleash your inner coach. Discover how life coaching can help you transform self-criticism into self-compassion and inspiration for yourself and others.
