Our internal critic can be harsh and unrelenting, especially in times when we’re triggered. That critic can be hard to silence fully without suppressing or repressing it. So how can we acknowledge the inner critic without nurturing its presence to grow in our minds and our lives?

Here are three tactics to keep our inner critic to a minimum.

Identifying Your Critic. Sharon Salzberg, author and teacher,writes in an excerpt from her book Real Love for Mindful.org that recognizing our inner critic as soon as it appears is an important step to avoid spiraling into a negative feedback loop. She offers us a simple exercise to remember the goodness inside of us and help to turn down the volume of that negative voice.

Cultivating Compassion. This Tonglen guided meditation with Lama Tsomo calms the mind and increases our empathy. By bringing our attention to our own suffering and that of others and shifting it to compassion, we are more present and connected. This practice can be done anywhere. Just find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and sit with a chair or cushion with your spine straight.

Stay Aware. Mark Bertin, author and developmental behavioral pediatrician, writes in this article for Mindful.org that reasoning with the voice in our heads is futile and can do more harm than good. That’s why staying aware of the voice and not validating it is a major step in keeping it at bay. He gives a simple awareness meditation that you can do anytime the voice comes up.

We want to know: How do you cope with your inner critic? Email us at [email protected] to let us know!

Published on Feb 20 09 : 00 am