HOW TO QUIET THE INNER CRITIC By Nabil El-Ghoroury, PhD, CAE Nabil El-Ghoroury, PhD, CAE
Most successful people have a very vocal inner critic inside their mind. Te voice of your inner critic is often quite negative, pointing out many of your mistakes, things you wish you could take back, or regrets about not acting a certain way. Over-obsessing negatively on past decisions can block you from moving
forward effectively. Turfgrass production is full of many choices you must make as a business owner, and each of those decisions can be a pain point where your inner critic will repeatedly remind you that you made or are making the wrong call.
So how can you quiet that inner critic? Here are some tips for quieting that critical voice.
Listen Carefully to Your Negative Toughts Pay attention to what your inner critic is saying. Are the thoughts global statements (e.g., “You are so dumb!”), or are they specific (e.g., “Why did you agree to sell to that distributor for such a low price?”)?
Track these thoughts over the course of a few days or a week by jotting them down when you notice them. which ideas seem to pop up most frequently? Which ones weigh you down the most?
Examine the Evidence for Tose Toughts How accurate, or inaccurate, are these thoughts? Look at the evidence and be fair to yourself.
If you have global negative thoughts, such as “You’re a terrible businessperson!” really consider all your experiences. Are you terrible most of the time? In most circumstances, those kinds of global statements are overgeneralizations, and there are likely numerous instances where you demonstrated excellent (or at least decent) business sense.
If the criticism is specific, think about how valid or off the mark it is. Remember this data for when you will be reflecting later.
128 TPI Turf News November/December 2023
The voice of your inner critic is often quite negative, pointing out many of your mistakes, things you wish
you could take back, or regrets about not acting a certain way.
Track Your Successes Sometimes, when good things happen, you don’t pay attention to those actions and just keep moving forward. But it’s essential to track all of your successes, both small and big. When you notice your positive outcomes, you’ll have more evidence to fight that inner critic when it does pop up.
Replace the Negative Tought with a Positive Tought If you’ve been doing the three steps above, you’ll be able to write an alternative statement that is positively focused and specifically addresses the concerns raised by your inner critic. For example, if your constant thought is that you’re a terrible businessperson, a replacement thought could be, “I’m a successful turfgrass producer who has had five years of profit, including my best year ever in 2021!” Say your statement to yourself throughout the day and repeat it after your inner voice criticizes you.
Tink About What You Would Tell a Friend in the Same Situation Often, you are your own harshest critic. But if your friend had the same concern, you’d likely remind them of their successes in response to them saying they are awful business owners. And if you did have a criticism, it would be much gentler than the criticism they give themselves. Give yourself the same compassion that you would give a friend.
Focus on Mindfulness If you’ve been reading my previous articles in Turf News, you’ll notice that most issues have referenced mindfulness. Tere’s a reason: mindfulness is one of our best tools for staying centered and reducing negative thoughts.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148
