That dang inner critic!
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
You can’t do this.
You can’t do that.
They’re not going to like you.
Nobody likes when you do…
You’re annoying.
You don’t know how to.
It’s too hard.
It’s going to be overwhelming.
You can’t handle it.
Lies. All lies.
You are not what your mind says that you are. Not by a long shot. And you don’t deserve to be berated like that. This is what to do:
Turn the volume down on this – You are not ugly. Not stupid. You are not unloved. You don’t mess everything up.
So you can turn the volume up on this – You belong. You are kind. Are a survivor. You are skilled!
Because that is how you feel good. I’ll show you how in today’s video.
Silence Your Inner Critic
Expect the critic.
You can silence your inner critic. It just takes a little bit of discipline and practice. When that critic comes into your mind, expect it. It’s been coming a long time and is a habit. You don’t get rid of it by just wanting to get rid of it. You get rid of it by practicing. When you start to doubt and judge yourself negatively, say, “I knew you’d come back. I get it. Now just have a seat I am busy right now.”
Compassion is the key. Love and understand yourself instead of beating yourself up on top of beating yourself up. This validates and acknowledges you and will help you let go of pain and anxieties. If we don’t have validation, we hold on to things really tightly.
*Keep in mind* Your life is about what you pay attention to, so focus on paying attention to the things that help you shine!
What do you beat yourself up about? What would your life be like if your self critic was silent?
Jodi’s voice is always so full of peaceful encouragement no matter the topic. From anyone else I would probably be too cynical and roll my eyes, but from Jodi, this kind of advice empowers and gives confidence. <3
OH thank you so much Jenna! That means the world to me!
Hi Jodi,
My anxiety revolves around not knowing who I am, I am just a brain in a body. I don’t understand the world around me anymore and see normal things completely differently. For example my parents, all of a sudden it’s so weird to me that they gave birth to me and now I’m here. What am I? There is no light at the end of my anxiety tunnel as it’s not focused on things outside of me. The very nature of life is what drives me crazy to the extend that I don’t know who I am anymore. I want to get through this, but I don’t know how. My psychiatric helps me once a week but I seem to go more and more downhill. I’m only 21 and feel so terribly lost in my mind, it’s as if I can’t grasp onto anything anymore. My thoughts are the same as the girl you described in the article. I obsess over suicide. It is so bad. All day long. It started with ‘what if i want to commit suicide?’ and now I get random thoughts about senarios and my anxiety is going through the roof. These thoughts in combination with depersonalization scare me. I used to be so happy, now I don’t recognize myself. Do you have any thoughts on my situation?
warmly, Stella
Hi Stella, You are stuck in hyper-thought. I talk about this in my program. It would be so good for you! Watch the free videos here: http://givefeartheboot.com. It’s tons of cortisol in your system makes you hyper focused and everything seems bizarre and unreal in this state. You need major distraction because there is nothing good in your thoughts, they just keep feeding more of them. BUt you need to be gentle with yourself about all of it. Watch my OCD videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12–7NEkIWM and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL4oOX2Vw94.
I would love to work with you in person where I can really help you! https://jodiaman.com/counseling/
This can get better, but you may need a bit of help at this point!
Love,
Jodi
Jodi, this post speaks to me–out loud! It’s so hard to silence the inner critic, especially at night when insomnia sets in and the mind thinks it’s the perfect time to ruminate. That said, refusing to listen to the voice of self criticism is something I practice daily. I’m happy to report that after many years, I can finally say I’ve taken on a more nonchalant way of seeing things. Perhaps it’s part of the aging process or the fact that your self esteem takes years to build but can be torn down in an instant what has convinced me it’s not worth the grief. I am loving your twitter posts and retweet since I can relate to so many of them! And I’m loving that banner! You are beautiful! 🙂
Thanks, Bella! I get so happy when I see you around! We started in this bloggy world together and I have special affection for my original tribe! I still hope to come to England someday and meet you! I like the nonchalant attitude is so important because it is often our seriousness that leads us to feel so bad. I love your work around! Same one I use! I love you, girl! Jodi xoxo
I love this message, Jodi! It’s so important. I often still struggle with the question of worthiness. It seems it was drilled into me that I don’t deserve certain things and that lingers. I still hear that inner critic but I’m much more aware of her false power. Great video by the way! Thanks for the reminder.
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Tonight the inner critic voice wants me to believe I did something wrong that I shouldn’t have done, that I acted stupid and said the wrong things, that I should keep my things to myself. I came here for reassurance. Thank you.
It’s lying!