Silence Your Inner Critic by Staying Busy and Making Progress

Your inner critic is loud. That internal voice sure can tend to drown out every other message you send yourself or receive from those around you. We’ve discussed several ways to quiet your negative self-talk. It’s my belief that the more tools you have at your disposal, the more likely it is you’ll be successful in overcoming negative messaging. Plus, there will naturally be some methods you gravitate toward or that work better with your personality. I’d like to share with you another trick to silence your inner critic. It’s as simple as staying busy and making progress. Take a look at what I mean.

Keep Your Mind Occupied

It’s hard to hear your inner critic if your mind is busy thinking about other things. By keeping yourself busy with meaningful tasks, you’ll have a lot going on to occupy your brain. You’ll soon find that you’re too busy being productive to be bothered by negative self-talk. The key here is that your tasks should have substance. Staying busy for the sake of being busy is not sufficient for our purposes. The tasks you choose should have purpose. They should stimulate your mind and lead to a sense of fulfillment. Work on steps that will lead to your goals such as researching career training options, cleaning out one room as you take on a new minimalism routine, or spending time with your family to increase bonds.

Notice Your Progress

As you find projects to help you work toward your goals, you’ll begin to notice the strides you’re making. It’s satisfying to be making real progress instead of remaining stagnant. You’ll no longer be wishing good things would happen for you; you’ll be making them happen. And it only takes one small step at a time. Be sure to write down real actionable steps you can take toward overcoming insecurity in order to pursue your dreams. Then, check each one off the list as you complete it.

Keep the Momentum Going

This progress will keep your momentum going. You’ll be eager to move onto the next thing. Staying busy with tasks that meet your objectives allows you to quiet that inner critic. While you may still fall into old habits, it will be much more difficult to find fault with yourself when you’re so busy making real progress in your life. In addition, taking concrete actions gives you proof that you’re capable and worthy. This type of evidence is critical to eliminating self-doubt.

Staying busy isn’t just a coping mechanism for stress or grief. It can be a strategic tool for taking charge of your goals and silencing your inner critic. Just remember the activities you choose should be meaningful and have purpose. Keep these tips in mind as you continue your journey.

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