Next up in our series on self sabotage is: Inner Critic.

This usually plays out as negative self talk that seeks validation out in the world.

The inner critic can wreak havoc on our mental well-being by telling us that we aren't well. That we are flawed, and thus unlovable. That what we say, do, even consider, is so preposterous that it would be safer to stay hidden. Harsh!

The inner critic is not something that can be soothed, like a crying baby in the middle of the night. This critic will keep us up throughout the night with no respite in view!

In Christianity, God implores us to put on armor, every day. This armor isn't some silly representation or an incantation of meaningless words. They're to equip us in how to overcome many things throughout our day, including this inner critic. Specifically, God says to put on the Helmet of Salvation (Ephesians 6:17). This is a representation (my interpretation) that we are to be aware of our thoughts, and its' effects it has on us. After becoming aware of the intricacies of the thought (I.E. I am a horrible person for standing up for myself) we can compare it to God's truths of us and kick out the negative thought and replace it with that truth ("We are created as a masterpiece" (Ephesians 2:10) with no bad or ill parts).

Task: Write down your thoughts that you have throughout the day, that seem to whisper, yell, and anything in-between that casts you in a negative light. At the end of the day, reread them and respond to those thoughts like a friend would, filled with compassion and understanding.

As well, you could answer those negative self speak by asking questions to the thoughts. I.E. "Everyone will think I'm terrible, when I go to speak in front of the class tomorrow." You could ask, "Who is everyone?" Then answer in a compassionate way. Reminding yourself, that maybe there is a friend in the class, who wouldn't think that you were terrible and could give compliments to you when the task is completed.

If writing isn't your style, speaking vocally what the words of the inner critic has said, will have a physical feeling of weight being lifted off of us, internally, as we acknowledge and then let go of the criticism. It creates a sense of that sweet freedom that we are searching for!

After completing the task of writing down the sayings that the inner critic had tried to overwhelm our minds with, and working through replacing it with truths, rip up the paper as a representation of us choosing to not believe the critic's view of us any longer and replacing it with the compliments and truths we find that strengthen, embolden, and uplift us instead.