The 5 main tactics the inner critic uses to keep you in its grip

The Self Salutation Newsletter

Greetings and Salutations!

Last week, I spoke about defeating your inner critic and how it can be the difference between a life filled with self-doubt and a life of freedom and empowerment.

I talked about the biggest mistakes that will keep you locked into self-defeating mindsets.

I also talked about what to do instead—how rather than being focused on changing yourself, you need to focus on changing your relationship with yourself.

Today, I’m going to dive even deeper and show you how the inner critic works. As the adage goes, you have to know your enemy.

Below are the 5 main tactics that the inner critic uses to keep you locked in the cycle of self-doubt.

1. Dealing with partial truths

It’s well known that the devil deals in half-truths.

A blatant lie is too easy to recognize—though your critic may also wield ridiculous falsities when you’re on the ropes.

In general, however, you’ll find the inner critic works by twisting and manipulating something that is partially true.

In other words, the critic offers a skewed version of reality.

When you examine the critic’s claims and evidence closely, you’ll invariably see that important facts have been omitted, faults exaggerated, virtues ignored, and complex events have been rendered into black and white.

And always, always, always you will find those impossible standards.

The problem is that the seed of truth in what the critic says can sew doubt in your heart and that allows the critic to retain power in your psyche.

When you take the time to unmask the half-truth for what it is, however, the critic shrinks into the backdrop.

Unfortunately, too often we fail to take the time to examine the claims thoughtfully—I’ll share more on why that is in a moment.

2. Staying in the realm of semi-consciousness

The inner critic is a creature of darkness.

Half-truths don’t do well in the sunshine, now, do they?

So the inner critic must stay in the realm of semi-conscious thoughts.

The self-doubt that you feel doesn’t need to emerge as a fully-formed thought. The feeling itself can be unbearable, and overwhelming.

It’s like a person who’s mastered threatening looks. Words aren’t necessary.

The critic remains in the shadows of negative feelings and this is another way that it retains its power.

3. Trying you repeatedly for the same crimes

The critic goes over the same ground again and again. Trying you again and again for things for which you’ve already been punished.

The critic is a master of dredging up episodes from the past.

That’s because one shortcoming on its own is rarely enough to warrant the critic's harsh vision the critic has of you.

The critic is, of course, both the prosecution and judge. First levying intense accusations, then smashing the gavel and finding you guilty.

But the critic is not concerned that you have failures. No, that would be too easy. The critic wants you to believe that you are a failure.

4. Pretending to want the best for you

How in the world does the critic get away with all of this absurd badgering?

Your inner critic wears the mantle of moral authority: it simply wants the best for you.

It presents itself as the voice of your conscience. It only wants what it wants because that is what is right and good.

This is one way you can easily recognize the critic at work, by the way.

Your true voice of conscience will uplift you. Even when its dictates are challenging they bring you a feeling of freedom.

Because truth and freedom are close partners.

The critic, on the other hand, is demoralizing, depressing, and defeating.

5. Relying on fear

The final, ultimate superpower of the critic is how it wields fear.

The reason this debilitating voice stays lodged in our hearts, the reason we don’t confront the critic for all its foolishness, the reason we allow it to dwell in the shadows, is that in a corner of our hearts we fear that the critic is right.

We fear that somehow this critic may know the ultimate truth about us, that it may have the final word.

Because of this, it seems better to allow the critic to live in the shadows, better to allow the critic to wield fear rather than to have the final confirmation that, in fact, the critic is right.

How to conquer your inner critic

So how can you get rid of this nefarious creature? The solution is threefold.

Step one: First and foremost, in all the areas of your heart where the critic reigns, you need to seed love and acceptance.

You need to combat the critic’s voice with the voice of self-compassion.

The thing you have to remember is that the critic isn’t pointing you to the real problems. The critic is the problem.

So whenever you find yourself in a negative headspace, ruminating over your shortcomings, you need to apply love and acceptance instead.

That doesn’t mean giving in to your shortcomings it means approaching them in a different way than through chastisement.

Step two: The second part of the solution is to reinforce your sense of worth and your inherent goodness. I spoke to this point briefly last week.

The critic retains its power with the threat that it has the final word on who you are.

I know that is absolutely and categorically false. But you need to be convinced of this yourself.

The best way I know to do that is to sit in meditation and encounter your truest, best self, the being you are in your heart of hearts.

Step three: The third part of the solution is to cultivate courage. Remember that the critic retains all its power by remaining in the shadows.

This, I believe, is the reason courage has always been held as the supreme virtue.

To conquer the fears in the heart that prevent us from this confrontation is no small task and to do so, you must gather your strength.

But it is not such a task that you will be unable to accomplish it.

Gradually, step by step—as the natural events of your life unfold—you can confront the critic and expose the hoax.

Fortunately for all of us, life is benign.

Even if you feel yourself to be short of courage I can assure you that with steady effort and attention, you will develop the strength you need for this confrontation.

You have within you a deep well of courage—you just need to tap into it.

Sign up for the 5-Day Challenge

Hopefully, I’ve shared enough of the nefarious tactics of this little beast that you’re determined to dismantle your inner critic once and for all!

If so, then I’ve got just the thing for you.

Starting next Wednesday, April 10th, I’m hosting a live FREE 5-Day Knockout Your Inner Critic challenge for you — so that you can gain freedom from this nag.

You’ll walk away with:

A deeper sense of courage and confidence in yourself

A stronger recognition of what a complete hoax your critic is

A new understanding of your true worth that doesn’t depend on externals

And you’ll also get a chance to win a few prizes! Oh, yes—every challenge must have its rewards.

You can sign up for this completely free and truly life-changing opportunity to empower yourself in the deepest ways possible with one simple click here:

Until next week…

Peace,

Simon

P.S. If you’d like to read the whole process I teach for transforming your relationship with yourself altogether in one place, you can find the Self Salutation book here.