INNER CRITIC-

Friend or Foe?

BY CAROLYN PHINNEY

I have found, over years of coaching, that“ You always mess this up.” most people think the inner critic is out to destroy them.

“ It is safer if you stay small.”

You know the voice. It’ s constant nagging. Saying something about your body, your timing, your work, your age, your worth, your visibility. It shows up exactly when you are about to want more.

“ You are not ready.”“ Who do you think you are.”

If you listen to that voice long enough, you stop recognizing it as a voice and start confusing it with your identity.

But the inner critic is not the deepest truth of who you are. It is one part of something larger that I call the Guardian Mind.

And the Guardian Mind has one job- to keep you safe, even if that means keeping you small.