You Are Probably Familiar With Your Inner Critic
Most of us are familiar with our Inner Critic – you know, that voice inside of you that criticizes or judges you, telling you things like “you should…” “why didn’t you…” or “what’s wrong with you?”
That critical voice used to run in my head all the time. Our Inner Critic often means well, wanting us to do better. However, they also make us feel bad about ourselves. Once I became aware of my Inner Critic, I realized I had to do something to get them out of my head. I knew that talking to myself in such a negative way wasn’t good for me. But trying to banish that voice was very difficult until I discovered my Inner Champion.
Who is Your Inner Champion?
Your Inner Champion is that voice inside of you that supports, understands and believes in you, that encourages and motivates you in a compassionate, kind and loving way. Think of your Inner Champion as your best friend. We may be less aware of our Inner Champion because we haven’t had much practice listening to him or her, but we all have one.
How do we call forth our Inner Champion?
You can try a very simple exercise. Think about something that happened to you that upset you. Let’s say you applied for a job, but didn’t get it. Get a piece of paper and start writing what your Inner Champion would tell you about your upsetting situation. Remember that your Inner Champion is compassionate, understanding, soothing, nurturing, loving, and kind, like a best friend. What would they say? Maybe something like: “I can see how upset you are. You really wanted that job. It is difficult to receive a rejection. But it’s ok – it is not the end of the world. You are very talented and capable and you want to work at a place that recognizes that.” What else would they say? Keep on writing. Once you are done, read what you have written to yourself.
We have access to our Inner Champion all the time. If we practice calling forth our Inner Champion every day, then we will eventually hear our Inner Champion automatically instead of our Inner Critic.
It’s your choice – who do you want on your side? Your Inner Critic or Inner Champion?
Manuela loves helping mid-level professionals create a career and life they love. You can sign up here for her monthly newsletter with helpful tips and course announcements.