From the course: Banish Your Inner Critic to Unleash Creativity

Our mental power tools

From the course: Banish Your Inner Critic to Unleash Creativity

Our mental power tools

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- Much of our inner critic is subconscious and deeply ingrained, so realistically speaking, we can't ever make the inner critic go away completely. However we do have the capacity to both recognize when it shows up and to intentionally shift our brains out of debilitating inner critical thoughts into more supportive and productive ones. How do we do this? Science! We have abilities that we were literally born with that we can use to change our brains. What I like to think of as mental power tools. We don't have to do anything special to get these, all we have to do is to learn how to cultivate them and make them stronger. So what are these mental power tools? They are neuroplasticity, mindfulness, and self-compassion. In combination they can effectively dismantle and start to banish your inner critic. The first is neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to change in response to different stimuli. The inner critic is a product of habitual thinking. And thinking is the firing of neurons in a particular pattern. When we make an effort to change a pattern of habitual thinking, by thinking new, different thoughts, we alter the old pattern of firing neurons which effectively creates a new mind frame. As sentient beings we don't run solely on instinct and habit. This is where mindfulness, the ability to be aware of our thoughts comes into play. We can willfully choose where to direct our brain power, and this initiates the process of changing our brains for the better. And as social beings we all have the ability to show compassion to others. When we direct our innate thoughts and actions of kindness and caring to ourselves and exercise self-compassion we relate to ourselves in a more supportive way. So by mindfully and deliberately choosing different thoughts that involve self-compassion, we put the brain's neuroplasticity to work to create a whole new mind frame. One where the inner critic is less active and as a result, silenced. This is how the mental power tools of neuroplasticity, mindfulness, and self-compassion can work together to banish your inner critic. Let's start learning how to use them for good.

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