Intentional reflection deepens our self-awareness and improves the quality of our thinking.
It does this because it facilitates the integration of different parts of our brain. As disconnected ideas link up we get that kick of insight which often replaces an unresolved feeling or removes an obstacle. Our inner critic is one voice we often struggle to get the most value out of.
Try this as a quick reflection exercise to get some value out of what your inner critic has to say:
- Notice when you feel resistance. For example not wanting to take a certain course of action or voice something, even avoidance of a particular person. Resistance often comes with an accompanying critical inner voice.
- Tune in to the voice in your head. Take a moment to write down or verbalise to yourself what the voice is saying. It is often making a critical statement about your worth or ability and often comes with a thought or feeling that the situation is unchangeable.
- Imagine the resistance has a valuable message. Whatever it is saying listen with curiosity and kindness. Then go looking for the meaning and value. Some questions you might ask are: Out of 10, how true is what the voice is saying? If this wasn’t the reason but the resistance was there because of some other legitimate concern, what might that be?
Sometimes we have give a little love to our inner critic to wrestle the insights out.
