Defeat your inner critic

I bet you are expecting the critic I am referring to be someone else like your colleagues, your boss or even occasionally your friends. No doubt these people do criticise us from time to time but your biggest critic is guess who? Yes you, How so? Read on.

WHAT YOU ARE SAYING ABOUT YOURSELF: Silently, most people beat yourself up, feel inferior to others and feel that to think well of themselves is to be boastful. I’ve heard statements like ‘Who am I?’ ‘This is for the educated ones’ etc No doubt some people are better than in specific ways but there is something you know you are good at. Acknowledge it, be proud it and let it give you confidence and motivation.

WHAT YOU THINK YOU CAN OR CANNOT DO: You are more focussed on what you can’t do and why rather than at least try. How do you know you can’t if you have not tried? Or what’s the worst thing that could happen if you tried and did not succeed? Your career cannot get any better than where you are unless you are willing to set some stretching goals and find the support you need to pursue them. Be willing to take a chance on yourself, because no one is more concerned about your success than you.

WHY YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO WANT BETTER: For some people wanting more, better or something more fulfilling makes them feel ungrateful for what they currently have. Stepping out is not that you want to necessarily walk away from what you are doing now. It means you acknowledge you have greater potential and want to explore it. Don’t put this potential under lock and key; appreciate what you have but don’t sit on the ‘more’ you can do and become.

Now take action: How can you build your self belief and capacity to do more?