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by Alyson Meister, Amanda Sinclair Published 22 June 2021 in Brain circuits • 3 min read
Our unrelenting inner critic can make our lives hell. That overly negative voice can contribute to untold stress and sleepless nights, which can then adversely impact work performance. During the pandemic, this voice may have become even more harsh: do more, push harder, keep productive, hold it together.
Here are four strategies that that can help to tame your inner critic.
Many people, including highly successful leaders, have an internal critic that becomes louder as they move into the leadership spotlight. The first step when you hear that critic is to recognise it as normal or human. It’s not weird to experience self-doubt and it doesn’t make you a failure either.
Strategies to achieve this:
The origins of our inner critic might come from a parent, teacher or role model or may even have taken up residence in childhood. Identifying when this voice was born, and who it represents, can help you let the voice go and replace it with more empowering narratives.
Strategies to achieve this:
Neuroscience research confirms that most of us ruminate too much, which is detrimental for our mental health and well-being. Practicing becoming more skilled at noticing rumination and consciously choosing not to keep thinking those thoughts can weaken the power of our internal critic.
Strategies to achieve this:
We can choose how much of our emotional and mental energy we put into firming up the borders and upholding the needs of the self. What’s more, our sense of self is open to learning and growth. Detaching the situation, from yourself as an individual, can enable you to be more open to others and non-defensive.
Strategies to achieve this:
Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at IMD
Alyson Meister is a Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at IMD Business School in Switzerland. Specializing in the development of globally oriented, adaptive, and inclusive organizations, she has worked with thousands of executives, teams, and organizations from professional services to industrial goods and technology. Her research has been widely published, and in 2021, she was recognized as a Thinkers50 Radar thought leader. She is Director of the Future Leaders program. She also serves as co-chair of One Mind at Work’s Scientific Advisory Committee, where she focuses on advancing mental health in the workplace. Follow her on Twitter: @alymeister.
Professorial fellow at Melbourne Business School
Amanda Sinclair is an author, researcher and teacher in leadership, change, gender, and diversity. A professorial fellow at Melbourne Business School, her books include Leadership for the Disillusioned (2007); Leading Mindfully (2016) and, with Christine Nixon, Women Leading (2017). Amanda is also a yoga and meditation teacher and much of her teaching and coaching focuses on introducing insights and practices from mindfulness to leading well.
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