What is the signal that this little girl is sending us?  My guess is that she’s either trying to tell us that she needs a nap, or she’s had too much sugar!  She hasn’t said either one of those things, has she?  She’s just sending a signal.

It’s not a calm, rational signal; it’s a big raucous one.  She not only wants to get our attention, she wants to keep it!  She wants us to do something…NOW!

That is exactly what the inner critic voice in your head is doing.  Trying to get your attention.  It’s trying to distract you from what you are doing, and change your focus to it.

And the problem is that you let it.

You misinterpret what is going on.  Instead of listening to what the critic is saying, you need to just see it as a signal.  That’s the only thing that matters.  Just like our screaming little girl, what the critic is saying doesn’t matter.  The fact that it’s a signal is all the information you need.

And what does the critics’ signal communicate?  What is the equivalent of too much sugar or needing a nap?  The critics’ signal is this:  ‘YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT…and the critic doesn’t like it!’  The inner critic wants things to stay the same, the old status quo.

That’s it.  Just that.  It’s going on and on about what you should be doing, why you’ll never succeed, how wrong, stupid, whatever you are.   None, and I repeat, none, of that matters, or even warrants any attention.  All that matters is that you interpret the signal correctly, as a signal letting you know that you’ve rattled the critics’ cage by doing something out of the box.

And doing something different is EXACTLY what you want to do, isn’t it?  Isn’t that what growth, change and the pursuit of happiness is all about?

If you want a more effective life you’ll have to do it differently.  If you want something other that what you are getting you have to change what you are doing.

That’s all there is to it.  That voice in your head is a signal, nothing more.  And it’s a signal that is trying to distract you from making those changes, the changes you want and need to make.

So, bottom line, instead of listening to the critic rant at you, instead of giving it attention, recognize it for what it is, and tell it to take a nap!  You’ll feel better, be less stressed, and actually accomplish more!