From the author: The inner critic is a familiar inner entity to all of us. The voice is usually quite boring and stern - and sometimes extremely tiring. Although he often turns out to be a curious character with whom you can even try to make friends! Or lure him to your side. Well, it’s definitely possible to come to an agreement – ​​in some way. In general, a critic often carries an initially good grain within himself, his goal is to make you a cool and successful person. Which is not surprising, because it is this part of the psyche that is called upon to solve issues of control and evaluation - a difficult matter, you must admit. But here you need to be on your guard - control always runs the risk of becoming too strict, turning into supervision, assessment - can transform into devaluation and humiliation... We are all familiar with the nasty voice that broadcasts that we will definitely make a mistake (if we haven’t already made a mistake) and nothing will come of it; a voice broadcasting that no one needs our work and in general it was done worthlessly - if not absolutely disgusting, then definitely not talented enough, not high enough, not fast enough, not enough... Not enough is the key word. It’s always not enough (... it can also be “too much” - but never “just right”). And it’s true - you can always find shortcomings in everything, if you wish. The inner critic is precisely the character who does not allow you to rejoice at the result and say to yourself “yes, I’m great” - even if the result is really worthy. Severe and annoying, he most often does not make discounts even if you are learning something and doing something for the first time - and does not allow you to enjoy the valuable and special first results of a new activity. Of course, this is a kindergarten! The critic does not welcome inspiration, the spirit of research, does not allow one to rejoice at discoveries: “Did you forget your head at home? You’re already 15 (25/35/45) – you’re not little anymore!” – it’s high time to know and be able to do it – or not to try and not to disgrace yourself! Of course, the critic slows us down. Who wants to try new things under such pressure? For what? To quote the classic, don’t leave the room, don’t make a mistake... Where does this nasty voice even come from? Like most of the voices that sound inside us and seem to be “ours” - in fact, it is someone’s voice that we have appropriated, “absorbed”, internalized. Listen, imagine your critic. Doesn't he or she look suspiciously like a mean old woman, and does the woman look like an eighth-grade algebra teacher? Who even gave a four instead of an five for excellent work (“so as not to relax”)? Or doesn't the voice sound like a disappointed mother? (Oh, mom... mom, who pursed her lips when she saw a “B” in the diary? What kind of praise can there be for a good grade! It’s not enough). In our childhood, the evaluation function was, of course, performed by adults. And the way significant adults perform this function determines what a person’s inner critic will be like. Remember: what you say to your child today, he will say to himself as an adult. Did the teacher/mom/any other critical character really mean what's best for you? Did she or he strive to raise you smart, strong, skillful? It may very well be that the adults strove as best they could, as best they could. But good intentions can lead to hell, as you know... What to do? Rationality and cooperation. As already mentioned, you can get to know this character better and come to an agreement. In general, a child is quite defenseless in front of an adult and most often is not critical of his assessment. You, on the contrary, are already an adult, you know how to think, weigh, and talk to the point. Most likely, it is useless to try to overcome, convince or prove something to your critic. The figure of the critic is your inner part - and a very strong one, in fact! A critic has a lot of energy - it’s better to appropriate it, and it’s wisest to “re-educate” the critic into an assistant. If you catch the beginning of a poisonous internal monologue/dialogue, stop. Say “stop” loudly and clearly. Exhale. One can say to a critic that! ;)