Silencing Your Inner Critic
Promoting Positive Change and Awareness in your Life with Thoughts
Two brothers named Orville and Wilbur invented a flying machine in the 1900’s that began with a single thought. With that thought came vision, with vision came purpose. Purpose led to action. Fast forward to the 21st century and from that single thought an airplane can fly nearly anywhere in the world. When you perceive thoughts in this context, you realize how much influence your thoughts have in your life.
Think of the brain as the hard drive of your body. Bits and pieces of information about you are stored there from many sources—parents, friends, teachers. Those people throughout your life fed your hard drive information, such as “you could have done better.” Your brain hears, “I’m not good enough.” Although their intentions may have been good, the result was a kind of programming your brain recognized as truth. So how do you change your negative thoughts to positive thoughts? How do you silence your inner critic?
Start Positive Self Talk Every DayOnce you begin this process, you’ll realize how much negative information you feed yourself throughout the day. When you consciously become aware of what you say to yourself, you can stop that thought and change it to a new one. It helps to actually say aloud, “Stop!” As you practice this method more, your perception will change; therefore your reality will change.
Read Positive MaterialThe phenomenal best-seller, The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne is based on the premise of thought affecting your life and the laws of attraction. Contributor Michael Bernard Beckwith said, “Creation is always happening. Every time an individual has a thought, or a prolonged chronic way of thinking, they’re in the creation process. Something is going to manifest out of those thoughts.” Positive material promotes positive thought, and through this simple conscious endeavor, your inner critic is silenced.
Surround Yourself with Positive PeopleDo you have someone in your life that is encouraging your inner critic? Do you attract relationships that drain you or cause you pain? Philosophers and zen masters believe that the teacher keeps showing up until the lesson is learned. Once you silence your inner critic, those teachers (the wrong career, the wrong partner) will no longer show up in your life. That leaves room for the positive influences and brings you that much closer to what makes your soul sing. Join an organization that matches your interests. Volunteer for a charitable event in your community. Take a class at a community college to broaden your knowledge. Is there a person in your life that you admire? Emulate his/her behavior and soon it will become a part of who you are.
Be Gentle with Yourself
Remember failures are simply lessons that push you to go a different direction. Once you view them as such, so-called failures become a vehicle to lead you down a different path. Don’t berate yourself for failing; congratulate yourself for trying and move forward. In his beautiful poem, Desiderata, Max Erhmann wrote, “Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
As you practice these strategies for promoting positive thoughts, your life will change. Your purpose or dharma will show itself, and your dream can become a reality.
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