Have you ever made a mistake and felt the sting of dread, shame, and disapproval a split-second later, followed by a critical inner voice that judged and found fault with what you had done?

Both the feeling and the voice are manifestations of what is known as your “Inner Critic.” This article explores what is an Inner Critic, how it works, where it came from, and how to free oneself once and for all of this sabotaging mechanism.

Let’s explore the definition in more detail:

INNER:

1. Situated inside, further in, or internal.
2. Spiritual, mental, or emotional.
3. Private and not expressed or discernible.

CRITIC:

1. A person who disapproves and expresses their unfavorable view of something.
2. A person who judges and evaluates or analyzes literary or artistic works, dramatic or musical performances.
3. A person who tends too readily to make trivial, or harsh judgments; faultfinder.

INNER-CRITIC:

1. Internal, private voice that disapproves, judges, evaluates, and finds fault saying that he or she is bad, wrong, inadequate, worthless, guilty, and not good enough.

If you are like most people, your feelings about criticism range from mild dislike to strong dislike to outright hatred of both the criticism and the person giving it.

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Andrew John Harrison

Founder of Goldzone Group and the primary author of Renaissance for Leaders. Harrison’s work focuses on the study of leadership and the conditions that shape human performance and decision-making.

andrewjohnharrison.com/