Your inner critic can be more poisonous to your psychological health than almost any trauma or loss.  

Trauma and loss fade over time, but the critic is always with you – judging, blaming, and finding fault. 

The first thing you should know about your inner critic is that no matter how distorted and false the attack is, he is almost always believed.  You almost always believe your inner critic! 

It feels normal to judge yourself because you are intimately aware of what you feel and do.  

The critic quickly drowns down any reasonable reflection and doesn’t recognize what went well.  Instead, he focuses on momentary thoughts, triggers memories, and instills doubt.

The critic also does not discriminate based on what you do; be it a student, a cash register clerk, or a CEO.  

If you are a CEO of a bank, it comes judging you for not owning a bank.  And if you are a clerk, it may tell you that you are not capable of running the cash register, let alone your life. 

Here’s another way he shows up. 

Imagine yourself walking into a job interview.  You are feeling ready, energized and excited about new possibilities.  At once you recognize the familiar voice in which your critic says “you’re a fraud; you don’t know anything.  You won’t fool these people, they’ll see right through you. What kind of answer was that?  Can you crack a joke?” 

It all seems to make sense; you believe every word. 

Because you’ve heard these words for years from your parents, your caretaker, your teaches, or other people of authority in your life. 

Now your voice is slipping into a monotone; your body tenses up.  Your interview becomes more and more stiff.  

Because you were listening to the critic, the critic turned you into the very thing you feared. 

The good news is that the critic can be tuned out before he has the chance to poison your self-worth.  With practice, you can analyze and disprove what the critic says.