Embrace the Inner Critic

Unique Personality

Jul 27

Written By Ashley Dodge

“In the end, the only person who truly cares how you lived your life is you.”

— Mrs Frugalwoods

What is your value and who should be the one to determine it?

The answer I believe is definitely you.

Our challenge more times than not is that we can be our harshest critic, never finding enough value in ourselves.

The money we charge for our products and services and the overall value we give to the world by our actions, can come under fire from within our own mind of not being or doing enough. This is especially true for those of us with an entrepreneurial drive. We need to create something that wasn’t there before and if our inner critic is fully in charge our business ideas just may never see the full light of day.

When my kids were little I made the conscious decision to not go into my business 2 days a week. I was around if my staff needed me and could put in a little work when the kids were napping but the rest of the time was for them. It was an important value I wanted to give as a mom and something I highly valued giving my babies who are now entrepreneurs on their own.

Though those years were tough, and I beat myself up often because my business growth faltered, it meant everything to be a good mom and financial provider as well. Did I make millions – no – but I provided value on a variety of perspectives for my family, employees and clients.

Yet my inner critic was ready to lead the charge in making me feel I wasn’t enough and comparing my accomplishments to others.

What I have come to find over the years and still today from time to time is that I have to balance the words of my inner critic between truth and too much criticism (just like any other person in my life). Simple awareness of the sometimes overzealous voice of your inner critic in your head can protect you from the ultimate result of immobilization and procrastination.

When there is no “boss” to tell you where to be and what to do … it can all get very fuzzy. You have to count on yourself to make the right choices without bossing yourself around.

Bottomline: We have far more value than our net worth shows to those people whose lives we touch with our time and efforts. While there always will be the goal to earn more, do more and be more we can’t do it at the cost of our own true inner happiness.

Weekly Growth Challenge:

In this challenge I share some insights around dealing with your Inner Critic. We each have one – that voice inside our head that questions our ultimate value and worth. While this part of our psyche is important in order to keep us in check and growing, if we allow the voice to get too loud it can keep us from ever feeling we are doing or being enough.

Listen to this week’s Podcast - Embrace The Inner Critic. Pay attention to how your Inner Critic talks to you.
It will be extra beneficial to journal about what this critic says to you and look at those words out of your head on paper versus always inside of your head.
Think about the last time you were truly happy. What were the circumstances that brought you that joy?
How can you have more of those circumstances in your life?
Look back at what you wrote and why you are being critical of yourself.
What are the negative words that you feel you could realistically change to be positive?