Stepping Stones

Lessons on Intentional Living with Lisa McGrath

Ignoring or Refuting Your Inner Critic Will Get Easier with Time

inner critic intentional life

Ignoring or Refuting Your Inner Critic Will Get Easier with Time

 Getting in the habit of addressing your inner critic can be really tough. As they say, old habits die hard. That’s because we become so used to doing things a certain way that it usually doesn’t occur to us to do them any differently. By the time we decide a change is needed, it takes serious effort to break long-held, ingrained habits. This is true of your inner critic. You’ve gotten used to hearing and believing its messages. Ignoring or refuting those words will take time. But, as with most habits, it does get easier with practice. You can break habits on your own or you can seek out help with a coach.

Keep reading, and I’ll tell you why ignoring or refuting your Inner Critic will get easier in time. 

Your Brain Creates New Paths

One very real reason new habits, including silencing your inner critic, get easier with time is because your brain creates new neural paths the more you repeat a behavior. Your old neural pathways will remain in place, though, so you have to continue a new habit over and over in order to forge new pathways to counteract the old. These new paths will get stronger and stronger with time, eventually replacing the old one. This process makes the new habit seem automatic the more times it’s practiced.

You Become More Aware

As you start to refute your inner critic, you’ll begin to believe the new messages you give yourself. Again, those neural pathways are being put into place. You also become more aware of just how toxic the old beliefs were. When you recognize that your former thoughts were unhealthy, you’re able to better identify them and deal with them when they creep back in.

You Gain Supplementary Skills

Each time you practice any type of new habit, you are learning additional supplementary skills. Often, these are things that will increase your emotional intelligence and making adopting new habits much easier in the future. You practice dealing with discomfort as you forge through and keep trying to make new habits stick. You learn that reward comes with dedication and effort over time. It feels good to start to practice and achieve new, healthier habits. Eventually, you’ll strive for the reward of that good feeling. Putting your inner critic in its place won’t seem so overwhelming.

While practice might not make perfect, it does make new habits seem easier over time. You may slip up and find yourself falling into your old routine once in a while, and that’s okay. Just acknowledge the misstep, praise yourself for continuing to try, and then get back on track with the knowledge that repetition makes all new things less difficult over time.

To make faster progress, find an accountability partner. When you find a caring accountability partner, you are able to make connections and brainstorm the next best steps towards your goals. It’s important to living your Intentional Life. 

Members of coaching groups find results faster because of the accountability aspect. If you haven’t joined our VIP Waitlist for A Pilgrimage to Self Lifestyle Coaching Membership, go over to www.ahousewithfourrooms.com . The program is only opened a few times per year, and you’ll want to hear all the information and updates...matter of fact, the program will be open once more in the fall of 2019...so get on the VIP Waitlist to receive emails.

Until next time...

Cheers!

Lisa

 

 

The life philosophy of A House With Four Rooms suggests thinking of yourself as being four rooms: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual rooms. It advocates for doing something daily for your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

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