According to Dr. Joe Rubino, the world’s leading authority on self-esteem optimization, many times as children we were told that we weren’t good enough. We may have gotten the message that we were not worthy of the best things in life and we accepted and absorbed these negative ideas.

This could have come from parents, grandparents, whomever. Regardless of whom it was we believed them. And now we have a voice inside our heads that takes on this person’s words to remind us of our inferiority.

Whether this negative chatter started with your misinterpretations or with someone else’s misguided words you have the ability to recognize that these thoughts are not true. More critically, they do not support your happiness and you have the power to stop your inner critic every time she speaks against you.

This voice may tell you that life isn’t bad if you live it quietly. She may tell you it’s too stressful to try to accomplish great things. Maybe you think your life is okay. But isn’t it true that your life lacks the passion and power you might experience by playing at a higher level? Are you genuinely happy continuing to live a lack-lustre life?

By developing higher self-esteem you can reclaim your greatness and create lots of possibilities for living your best life! Yes, it’s true that you may experience some level of stress by getting out of your comfort zone but there are greater levels of joy and fulfillment awaiting you on the other side.

Here’s an exercise to shift things:
For the next week as you go about your day notice each time your inner critic puts you down and keeps you playing small. Write down each negative thought you have about yourself. Start observing the difference between your inner critic’s voice and your intuition-the voice of wisdom.

Author's Bio: 

Lorna Blake is a powerful, positive and inspiring empowerment specialist. She has over 10 years experience in helping people take charge of their lives and achieve their goals.
Lorna has a degree in Social Work and is certified as a teacher. Combining her professional training with her own life experiences in overcoming adversity, she brings a unique brand of expertise to life coaching.
Using her own personal story of triumph over difficulties she has facilitated workshops and seminars and helped hundreds of clients. Her story touches the lives of people everywhere. She has recently written a 6 week e-Course on Assertiveness Training and an e-Book entitled Whose Life Is It Anyway.
She specializes in coaching clients for self-empowerment, relationships, health, stress-management, finances, transitions and work-life balance. She teaches clients to take gradual steps and have fun along the way to reaching their goals.