Hello and welcome to another episode of How to Love Your Body - this is Jenna and Lauren and today we are going to be talking about quieting your inner critic. 

You can follow along with the worksheet that goes with this episode here www.thebodylovesociety.com/105

You know the mean girl inside your head that makes you believe anything they say? She is something that gets to be handled because when the thoughts inside your head are constantly telling you how bad, unworthy, and such a failure you are - it will take you a heck of a lot longer to get to a place of love  and food and body freedom when you have such a negative nancy pulling you down. 

So what do to with the inner critic when her head is roaring? 

Acknowledge her and have compassion for her- she wants to be heard. She wants to be loved. She wants to be comforted. Even though she’s being such a mean girl - it’s the only way she knows how to communicate. It’s her cry for help - for that love and attention. 


Of course you aren’t going to agree with the mean things she is saying - what you can do is understand her - and tell her that you understand that it’s hard. To have compassion for her because it’s clear that she’s suffering. Give her the acknowledgment that she’s looking for - tell her that you are there for her and you have no judgement- you can say “ thank you for sharing, but the things you are saying are not my truth.”

Just by allowing the inner critic to have a voice allows it to come up and then be placed into the background. You don’t give anymore energy to it. When they get loud, you listen to them, and let them be on their way as you hold a space of compassion and understanding.

She is a part of you but that doesn’t mean she gets to be the boss of you. You take the power back.


Here are some tangible activities you can do to quiet the inner critic. 

 

 

POST IT NOTES-

After this episode or whenever you get a chance (make it a priority) - write a stack of  reminders for yourself on post it notes- Empowering messaging, loving messages, motivational messages, inspiring messages- whatever will give you that boost to remember what you deserve and who you really are.

You can say things like: 


 

I am beautiful 

I am a badass boss babe 

I am an amazing mom 

I can do hard things 

I am lovable 

Take a breath, be present! 

Etc… whatever feels good to you that will keep you going each day. 


Post them in all the places you regularly see- places like the mirrors you always look in, your car dashboard, your work space, anywhere. 

 

It may seem kind of silly or corny but you will see the difference when you wake up and maybe are already starting a tough day and you see all these reminders that give you the feel good boost you may need to keep that inner critic / mean girl in the background and not blaring in your ears. 


Another activity you can do is - RELEASE/ REFRAME JOURNALING

 

Whenever the inner critic is going off and nothing seems to stop her- get out your journal and write down the story she is telling you. Get all the words out on paper. It doesn’t need to make sense or have the correct spelling - just write and write and dump the words onto paper. All the feelings all the emotions- everything. It can be in messy handwriting, it can be whatever- just go all out. 

Once it’s all out and you’ve said it all - reframe the story. 

Don’t re- read what you wrote - there’s no need to go back through that. 

Rip up that paper and start a fresh new page. 

Now, begin with writing 10 things you’re grateful for- gratitude can always shift your energy into a new state. Most likely a better feeling state- 

 

After you dive into gratitude, get into the reframe part and write to yourself everything that you need to hear. That you are an amazing woman, that you deserve to be heard and supported by others. That your voice matters. That it doesn’t matter the size of your body but the size of your heart. That you are doing the best you can and you a