“You stupid idiot!”
“What did you do that for?”
“You’re so useless”
You wouldn’t want to be friends with someone who spoke to you like that, would you?
You wouldn’t put up with someone saying things like that to you, would you?
And yet you do.
If your inner critic is anything like mine it is saying things like this to you all the time – and not only are you putting up with it, you actually listen to it and much of the time you believe it too!
Perhaps your inner critic isn’t this bad, or it only says things like this to you on occasion. But does your internal voice also say things like;
“You can’t do that!”
“Who do you think you are?”
“You’re not good enough”
These disparaging or discouraging remarks are just as horrible and limiting, stopping you from living your dreams, showing up how you want and having the relationships you want.
What if you started to treat yourself like a treasured sister, a close friend or a vulnerable child?
What if, instead of berating yourself you started to praise and encourage? Just think what would change for you?
Instead of “you stupid idiot” try “oops, never mind, you did your best, now, let’s see how we can move forward”
Instead of “who do you think you are?” Try “you do know your stuff, others need what you have to share, you should go for it”.
Try being your own best friend.
Your Practice:
1) Every time you hear yourself say something negative towards you, something which puts you down, is nasty or just discouraging…. STOP, notice and acknowledge it.
2) Don’t beat yourself up about having done it, yet again, just notice with curiosity and say “aha I’ve seen you!”. Stop any negative train of thought.
3) Choose to replace the negative thoughts with positive ones. Imagine you’re talking to someone you love. What would you say? Say that! To YOU!
Because after all, loving yourself is so important.
It will help you to grow.
It helps others love you.
It makes everyday life a whole lot more enjoyable.
Try being your own best friend for a week and let me know how you get on by commenting below.
With love
Hils x
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