Personal Healing: Silence "The Critic" Once and For All (Part 2)

Welcome to Heart Flow! I'm Lynn, and I'm glad you're here. Together we will share ideas about health, understanding yourself, and- most importantly, the building blocks for personal healing. Let's create a community where we share our challenges, blunders, and victories. Reach out; I would love to hear from you! Don't forget the FREE 30-minute Discovery Session to start your healing journey.

Last time we discussed The Critic that lives inside of us. Today, we will work on identifying The Critic to begin the healing.

Before my healing journey, The Critic was a voice from my past relationship. As if my toxic ex was whispering in my ear and telling me how everything I did- and was- simply did not measure up. When The Critic started in my head, my heart would race, and I lost confidence in myself.

To recap: The Critic is the voice in your head telling you how you are not enough. This self-talk can come from many past experiences- a caregiver, an ex, or even a younger version of yourself. The dangerous thing about The Critic is that it works in your unconscious mind and calls upon programmed reactions that you are not consciously controlling.

The good news is, and I know this is hard to believe, you control The Critic! After helping clients (and myself!) with personal healing, I have developed these simple steps.

• Identify The Critic. What is the undertone of your Critic's chatter? Use a journal or the Notes app on your phone. Take note of the thoughts from The Critic for a day or two.

• Evaluate The Critic. After a couple of days, look at your notes. Are the messages harmful and full of doubt, fear, shame, or anger? Or are the messages helpful and filled with gratitude, encouragement, love, and compassion? What is it saying? "I'm not good enough." "I can't do anything right." "No one will love the real me."

**Note- The Critic is not always harmful. Sometimes we need to hear negative messages to keep us out of harm's way. So, practice gratitude for The Critic protecting you in the past. However, we are changing things and ready for some adjustments!

• Check-in with your body. How does it feel when you review The Critic's thoughts? Is your heart racing? Do you have a stomachache? Is your chest tight? Unpleasant reactions are your body's way of saying something is wrong.

Take a few days with these exercises. Next week, we will focus on strategies to silence The Critic for good.

Until then, if you want to get started on your path to healing, book a FREE 30-minute Discovery Session. I would love to hear from you! What did you discover when doing these exercises? Share in the comments below. Or, for help with your personal healing, contact me directly.

From my heart to yours,

Lynn

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