Inner Critic and How It Blocks You From Success

What is the inner critic and how does it block your steps from success? Everybody tends to criticize nature. The critic doesn't always utter but it often comes out in our minds. The inner critic is indeed very important to help you achieve certain goals. When you are in a diet program and there are appetizing sugary dishes, your inner critic helps you stop the intention to eat them all.

But in many cases, the inner critic can also block someone from being successful. Moreover, it is if the critic comes out every time you want to do action. It just makes you feel doubtful about doing those things and too afraid to take the risk. The excess of inner criticism is known also as negative self-talk. Sure, such a condition should be avoided since it may affect your mental health.

Well, are you interested to know more about the inner critic? Here is a further explanation for you.

The Definition of Inner Critic

There has been much research related to inner criticism in recent days. Most of those research and studies talk about how the inner critic can influence your life whether positively or negatively. Unfortunately, many of them suggest that too much inner criticism or negative self-talk tends to have bad effects on you.

One of the experts who talk about inner criticism is Arash Emamzadeh who worked in the clinical psychology area. He (2023) refers to inner criticism as the extremely negative evaluation of ourselves whether because of failing to achieve a certain standard or preventing any failure in the future.

Inner or self-critic is also often associated with some negative feelings such as feelings of being not competent, guilty, embarrassed, not feasible, and more. In the beginning, someone tends to criticize themselves to improve themselves, such as in the employment world. However, when it is done too often, it turns into negative things.

Why Excess Inner Critic is Not Good

In nature, anything too much has never been good. The same thing goes for the inner critic which can bring bad effects to anyone when it happens frequently. People who are very critical of themselves tend to make them more stressed. The level of inner criticism may be different from one person to another. But the effect is relatively the same although it is at the same level as well.

People with excess inner criticism tend to overthink what people think about them. Neutral comments from others are often seen as negative. To make it worse, they cannot just let them go but mind those things again and again.

There are some bad effects generated by having an inner critic in your mind. Those effects are felt not only by yourself but also by other people around you. The bad effects on yourself are that you feel not comfortable, lacking, worthless, and not confident. If this problem is not solved, it may cause further mental problems such as stress or even depression.

Sure, it also brings negative effects to other people around you. It may reduce effectiveness when working particularly when you are doing a group job. Personally, this condition affects relationships with ones including your spouse, partner, children, parents, family, and friends.

Some people with inner criticism often introvert themselves and reduce socializing. Meanwhile, some others respond to their own inner critic by being more aggressive. In some cases, people with this mental problem provoke others and act in destructive behavior. When you have this tendency and the condition is getting worse, it is much better to go to the psychiatrist for some help before it affects yourself and your environment more.

How Inner Critic Blocks You From Success

Excessive inner criticism tends to make you not only think but also behave negatively. Some people can indeed control their behavior even if their minds are full of negative thoughts. However, many of them cannot. It is because our behavior is a product of what we are thinking. That's why if we think about something negatively, as a result, we must behave negatively also.

The action and behavior, as have been mentioned earlier, influence how you see people and the environment around you and how people and the environment watch you. Since it brings negative effects to your relationship with others in any aspect, it seems more difficult for you to get the success you want.

Here are some examples of inner criticism and how they finally block your success. "I think I really failed this exam and there is no way for me to get a good grade this semester. It always happens and it seems the future is not on my side too". Such a thought may make you want to give up any chance in front of you and this is actually the real failure.

Another example is when you worry about something that you have not tried at all because of your experience in the past. "I have tried many auditions and none of them is successful. I don't think I want to do it again in the future. There must be another failure for me." It is also a kind of inner critic that stops you from being successful just because of what has happened in the past.

Next, inner criticism is also when you think you are all alone just because you have a problem with one person. "She doesn't want to listen to me. I'm just alone, no one understands and wants to be with me." This kind of inner critic makes you always think negatively toward others even for people who actually love you.

How to Stop Having Inner Critic in Mind

Since inner criticism comes from your own thoughts, it means how to stop it by changing the way you think and perceive any issues around you. It is not easy for sure particularly if being critical of yourself has been your habit for a long time. So, you can train yourself by making some attempts as follows.

1. Realizing that the Inner Critic is Not Always Good

Criticizing yourself is not bad as long as it is in the right portion. It should not be too much. Yes, you should criticize yourself when you have done something terrible. For example, it is when you are eating too much sugar when you know it is bad for your health. For the rest, try to forgive yourself and give yourself more chances for better actions and results.

2. Appreciating Yourself

Everybody needs appreciation no matter how small the achievement he or she has made. Well, the same thing is for you. More importantly, the appreciation doesn't only come from others but also from yourself. So, when you have achieved something, don't forget to feel grateful and thank yourself that you have made it.

3. Seeing Things More Positively

Undeniably, this world is cruel. There is hard competition among people and you must realize that not all people like you. What you need to do is accept it. It is okay if you sometimes fail and it is okay if there are people who don't like or even hate you. You are not alone here. So, try to turn all those negative things to be the more positive things. Use them to motivate you to be a better person.