Silencing Your Inner Critic: Unlocking Leadership Confidence

The inner critic is the voice that whispers, “You’re not good enough.” Left unchecked, it can hold you back in myriad ways.

How to Quieten the Critic:

1. Name It: Recognise your inner critic for what it is—something that’s trying to protect your ego but is actually keeping you playing small. Give it a name (e.g. Doubtful Diana) to separate it from your true identity. You can then ask ‘Doubtful Diana’ to (metaphorically!) leave the room whenever she shows her miserable face.
2. Challenge It: Ask, “What evidence do I have that Doubtful Diana is telling the truth”? Replace negative assumptions with constructive truths.
3. Choose an Alter Ego: When doubting yourself, think of the person you admire most and ask what they would do in your shoes right now. The answer will come to you easily.

Don’t let your inner critic define you.

This week’s activity: Catch those ‘inner critic’ thoughts:‘ I’m no good at….’ ‘I can’t do that…’ ‘She’s so much better than me at….’.  Catch them. Write them down. Then ask yourself if those thoughts are helping you or hindering you.

P.S. You’ll only get so far if you’re driven by your inner critic or self doubt. Everyone suffers from self doubt from time to time – true confidence is knowing that you can handle it whenever it shows up. My 90 day Lead with Confidence programme (starting in April) will show you how to do that even if you’ve been struggling for years. Click here for the details.