***YOUR INNER CRITIC: Don’t Let it Block Your Success

Whether you’re self-employed or you work for someone else, your inner critic can deflate your business confidence and success like a sharp tack destroys a balloon. It can be very difficult to focus on your strategic plan when you’re bombarded by mental chatter like, “You don’t know what you’re doing” or “You’ll never succeed.”

One of the most common stumbling blocks to achievement in any field is resisting your inner critic instead of discovering its innate value. You’ll gain freedom when you discover the truth about your inner critic and turn it into a loving, supportive internal coach.

DISCOVER THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUR INNER CRITIC

When you hear putdowns like “You’re not good enough” or “You’ll fail,” it’s difficult to imagine that your inner critic has been slaving away, nonstop, for most of your life . . . with your best interests in mind. What? Your inner critic is misguided, but its intentions are so pure and positive that most people eventually tear up with gratitude once they fully understand this puzzled part of themselves.

You gave birth to your inner critic in early childhood. You very cleverly (but unconsciously) designed it as a protective shield to avoid adult disapproval. Your inner guardian held you back with messages like, “You aren’t powerful enough to do what you want.”

Children have many limitations. Even though you’ve grown up, your confused, strong-willed inner critic has no understanding of your true capabilities. Today, your negative voice continues to hold you back with a barrage of dis-empowering comments and emotions, from shame and anxiety to self-sabotage.

Until you re-educate this extremely powerful part of yourself, your internal censor will continue its struggle to protect you from harm, disappointment, disapproval and failure by putting you down. You’ll feel unworthy, helpless, fatigued and possibly even depressed.

YOUR INNER CRITIC NEEDS A NEW JOB DESCRIPTION

My clients are relieved when they discover their inner critic is not their enemy. They’re amazed to learn that trying to banish it makes it stronger. They gain freedom when they discover that our inner critics want to help us and were originally designed to keep us out of trouble. It’s very empowering to learn that you can reinvent what you created.

It’s time to learn to use the strong-arm antics and derogatory voice of this high-energy, potent part of yourself to your advantage. Successful, happy people, from Olympic athletes to actors and CEOs, have discovered how to derive immense value from their internal censor. They know how to embrace their inner critic and re-channel its remarkable persistence and energy in helpful ways.

After you explore the myths about your inner critic and you comprehend its potentially positive power, you can easily and rapidly transform your inner censor into an internal employee who will tirelessly work 24/7 on your behalf. You’ll love becoming the strong, confident person you’ve always been destined to become.

TRUE STORIES THAT WILL INSPIRE YOU

Here are a few examples of how my clients transformed their inner critics so they could enjoy the high achievement they were craving.

• One client who had been afraid to go forward in her business discovered the power of using multisensory breathing that targeted her belly (her power center). This allowed her to refocus her critic. She reprogrammed it to help her become her most authentic and powerful self.

• Clients who were fed up with slow achievement learned how to identify and then easily omit very specific self-talk that had been empowering their inner critics. After learning how our brains interpret certain phrases like “I’ll try to do that soon,” clients whose inner critics had been badgering them with nasty comments made dramatic positive shifts. These clients taught their inner critics to reinforce their strengths instead of criticizing their progress. Every participant in the program reported accomplishing their goals in less than half of their original projected timeline.

• After a client who had self-sabotaged by avoiding self-promotion developed compassion for his inner critic, he gained immense clarity that deleted the temptation to battle with his negative self-talk. Our inner critics thrive on criticism. When we don’t fight them, they lose their power and we gain a new layer of self-acceptance. That’s why this client’s gremlin transformed into an ally that helped him successfully market his skills and products.

• Another client decided to stop comparing herself to other people and discover her own way of enjoying success in the world. Because she had given birth to her inner critic at a young age, her critic responded well to a series of light-hearted, playful “inner critic relaxation exercises.”

• A client who said she felt trapped by negative people in her environment learned how to shield herself so her inner critic didn’t become inflamed.

• A client who wanted to change careers was paralyzed by indecision because, “My inner critic pushes perfectionism. This makes me agonize. Then I’m uncomfortable with any decision.” Once he learned the power of simple physical movement techniques that calmed his inner critic, he attracted everything he needed to enjoy a more fulfilling career path.

• After clients with painful relationships befriended their inner critics, they radiated more self-love and attracted loving, supportive personal and professional relationships.

• Another client had been wasting a lot of energy hurling affirmations like “I DO feel confident” each time her stubborn inner critic appeared. She hadn’t understood how intelligent our critics are. They immediately renounce and fight affirmations that aren’t absolutely true. With every round of affirmations, her critic fired another round of invalidating messages like “You’re not good enough.” Once the client learned how to pose very specific, empowering questions to her inner critic and her subconscious mind, her inner critic latched onto its new job description and helped her double her income.

• Clients who had been struggling with excess weight that negatively affected how they presented themselves discovered the magic of calming the negative inner voice that had been causing them to unconsciously hold onto their extra weight. They were surprised at how quickly their weight shifted to what was ideal for them.

• An entrepreneur who had been worried about a low budget to accomplish his goals learned how to turn his inner critic into a detective that led him to new resources and fed him positive suggestions for accomplishing his goals.

• Other clients discovered the easiest, fastest ways to differentiate the voices of their inner critics from their authentic internal feedback system and their intuition. With this self-awareness, they were able to consistently use their critics to their best advantage.

• A small business owner learned why it was important to stop trying to crush her inner critic. She discovered how to use enjoyable multisensory approaches designed to soften the inner gremlin by uncovering its hidden needs. She was surprised, “While my critic took a nap, I became much more creative and successful.”

ARE YOU READY TO REDEFINE YOUR INNER CRITIC’S JOB DESCRIPTION?

When you read “Conquer Your Inner Critic”, you’ll benefit from an innovative, freedom-producing approach that emerged from years of work with hundreds of clients who were facing the same challenges you’re struggling with. Like you, they were haunted by critical self-talk. Promoting their skills was difficult in the world of work when they were anxious or their confidence waned. It was often frightening to take an intelligent risk.

Are you truly ready to calm the crippling voice of your inner critic? Take advantage of a proven program tested by hundreds of clients before sharing the tools with you. You’ll gain special value from the illustrations and the workbook that are part of the book. Order “Conquer Your Inner Critic” at http://bit.ly/ConIC.

© 2013. Excerpted with permission from the #1 Bestselling Book, “Conquer Your Inner Critic” by Doris Helge, Ph.D. You may reprint this article as long as it is in tact and proper attribution is given.