Tag Archives: inner critic

Health

Turn Away from Your Inner Critic

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Man with hand on forehead - depressed
Thanks, John Hain and Pixabay.

“Turn  Away from Your Inner Critic” by Joan Y. Edwards

An unleashed, severely overactive inner critic can fill you with conflicting emotions and self-doubt. Lots of self-doubt. It may mislead you with fear (false-evidence appearing real). It may even lead you to think you know other people’s intentions better than they do. It may make you think you are a mind reader.
An inner critic  typically stems from past experiences, societal pressures, or personal insecurities. It often shows up giving you self-doubt, harsh judgment, and/or unrealistic expectations.
When you were a child, your inner critic may have helped keep you safe. That voice in your head now is probably repeating something a person in great authority told you as a child or teenager.  You believed this statement unquestioningly. It could have been your mother,  father, teacher, preacher, policeman or someone else in charge. It could have been from a traumatic experience.The problem is that your mind’s interpretation of these words are not always accurate.  Especially, if it was before you were of the age of reason.
Your inner critic’s voice tells you things. Warnings: Don’t go near the water. Don’t touch the stove. Don’t trust strangers. Don’t talk at the dinner table. Don’t make someone angry. DON’T. DON’T. DON’T. NEGATIVE. NEGATIVE. NEGATIVE.
Your gut reaction to what people say or do to you may come from your inner critic. However, your inner critic trusts no one. Not even you. It may give you faulty information. It may provide you with a faulty assessment of your situation at the present time. It may be still in the past.
So, I propose that you turn away from listening to that inner critic of yours. Put a new voice in your head to listen to. One you can name what you want. I’ll call it “Your Inner Best Friend.”
What would your best friend tell you to do? What would God tell you to do? Be your own Inner Best Friend. Love yourself. Say kind things to yourself. Hold yourself accountable, but do it in a gentle manner.  Ask questions. Don’t guess what people are thinking. Don’t guess their intentions. Ask them. You are worth it. They are worth it. Preserve your inner peace and the peace of others on your life’s path.
Instead of criticizing you for everything that you do, say, and feel
your Inner Best Friend:
1. Accepts you as you are. Helps you find your joy and keep your inner peace.
2. Listens to you.
3. Forgives you.  Helps you have compassion for yourself. Realizing that hurt is real. That you can survive hurt and be stronger. You don’t have to hold onto the pain or blame. You  can relax your body, mind, and spirit. You are safe. You are loved. You are cared for.
4. Speaks to you with kindness, gentleness, love, and wisdom. You are worthy, priceless, amazing, powerful, compassionate, trustworthy, and wise. You are evolving. You are, quirky, and perfectly human.
5. Searches for and points out information you might not have considered.
6. Does not judge, blame, condemn, or punish you or others.
7. Helps you figure out what the real problem is.
8. Helps you search and find solutions that honors your self-worth and the self-worth of others, too.
9. Empowers you to try the solution you believe is the best one that leads you to inner peace. Trust that you choose the best solution anyone could choose with the same thoughts, feelings, and knowledge you have at the moment you made your choice.  You are not defined by what happens to you, but by the courage and tenderness you carry forward. This courage and gentleness shows hows how strong and resilient you are.
Thank you for reading my post. I hope it helps you. This information and information I shared on my last few posts helped me tame my inner critic which got way out of control this year.  It filled me with doubt of my self-worth and I knew I was in trouble so I did a self-retreat listening to affirmations and repeating affirmations and listening to positive minded people on youtube. And praying a lot. And doing things I loved doing. And learning new ways to relax my body, mind, and spirit. I  searched and God helped me find things to empower me. Thank you, God. I believe that God , your creator, will also lead you to the information you need to heal your body, mind, and spirit. I pray that you spend time doing things and believing things that are good about you. You deserve it. God created you to be awesome and you are definitely awesome. Turn away from your inner critic.
I believe in you.
Believe in Yourself
Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards
Copyright 2025 Joan Y. Edwards
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Resources:
Jessica  Heslop: Unconditional Self-Acceptance I am Affirmations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLO_ZS4NuPI&authuser=0
Louise Hay: Calm Panic, Find Solutions FAST! Say this to solve any problem.
https://youtube.com/shorts/5g3xWjPdFpM?si=AZGh-Z2wJNranJzg
Grace Mercy: Always Start Your Day with Powerful Morning Prayers for Protection and Life Change
https://youtu.be/GPT3MpmufbQ?si=5M39Pwv5Xa_AD_CD
Peaceful Morning Affirmations:  Affirmations for Health and Healing: Be Your Best Self.
https://youtu.be/MCJJLyU9TSk?si=b0YtRKyQtHemLiOX
Health, Spiritual

Focus on the Present

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3 clocks at 5 minutes til noon
Thank you for letting me use this image, Alexa from Pixabay.
“Focus on the Present” by Joan Y. Edwards
Perhaps you are like me. You may have many experiences that overwhelm you and put you in the worry mode. Troubled and puzzled about how to handle problems with family members or friends, problems with your dwelling, your health, your finances, your car, your job, etc.). You may not be able to put your thoughts and emotions at peace within your body, mind, and spirit. You may become very anxious, full of fear and not feeling comfortable at all because you aren’t able to figure them out. Your mind moves from the present to the past or the future. You can’t seem to just focus on the present time.
Perhaps it is like you are at the Supermarket and all of these troubling experiences are in the check out line waiting to be charged and put into an appropriate sized bag in your cart (your body, mind, and spirit). However, your old ways of handling things no longer work.  Old Used-ta is no longer in service. The Goldilocks time. when everything went “just right” has disappeared.
It is like watching a movie of your life.  You keep on rewinding it to different past hurtful events in your life that were similar to the ones you are having at the present time. However, your old ways  of handling these emotional things don’t work any more. They don’t put you at peace. You need new ways. New awareness. New points of view.
At times like this, perhaps your inner critic enters the scene and tells you that you are not doing it right. The way to tame your inner critic is to prove him wrong by bolstering your self-confidence and building stronger coping techniques that put your mind, body, and spirit at peace. Your inner critic wants to protect you. God will help you tame your inner critic. I believe that if you are constantly hearing negative voices inside your head that the devil may be tempting you. He wants you to believe all the bad stuff about yourself. He wants you to doubt yourself. Doubt your goodness and mercy. God will help you tame him and shut him up. I asked God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to live within me and help me.
God helped me do a retreat at home. I prayed, searched for sources online, and talked with family and friends. Doing your own personal retreat may help you gain your self-confidence back, give you awareness, wisdom, and understanding. God will help you put a stop to the painful memories and worries about the future outcome of your choices and experiences.
Sometimes you and I hand things to God and then worry about them anyway. We give it to God with our right hands, and take it back with our left.  Being human is tricky at times. Inner peace is God within us. Ask him to build more of it in you.
After I did this self-retreat and began focusing on the present rather than the past or on the future. Things were better inside me. I went on an adventure. I went to Georgia for a baby shower. A wonderful occasion. Thank you, God for blessing us with new life. We went for a boat ride on Blue Ridge Lake: my two daughters, my youngest granddaughter, my niece and her friend who was the captain of the motor boat.
At one point everyone except me decided to swim in the lake. They all had on their swimming suits and life vests. I walked to the back of the boat to take pictures of them.
All of a sudden, my older daughter says, “Momma, you’re going farther away.” I looked around and noticed that was true. I was definitely going away from them. So I said as I waved, “Bon Voyage! Bon Voyage!”
I said, “I’ll call 911.”
My older daughter said, “Momma, there’s no cell service here on the lake.”
I said, “I’ll call any way.”
They were all laughing so much that if they didn’t have on their life vests, they might have drowned from laughing so hard.
The man who was captain of the boat swam to the boat and threw out a different anchor. He said the one he had used before was too short and didn’t take hold in the bottom of the lake. Hence, my “Bon Voyage.”
I hope this story makes you laugh. It had a happy ending. All of us safe on shore later.
I put links to the most helpful YouTube videos that God led me to and that helped me during my self-retreat.  I hope if you watch any of them that they help you build inner confidence and faith that you and God have got this. That God is not going to desert you or abandon your cry for help.
Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ, Jesus.”
Please leave me a comment. If you have  scriptures or other resources that have helped you when you feel anxious, worried about the past. present, or the future, I would really like to hear from you in the comment area.
Never Give  Up
Joan Y.  Edwards
Copyright 2025
Resources
1. 4 Powerful Things To Tell Yourself Every Morning | Shi Heng Yi Best Speech
https://youtu.be/et4JI6fA0Hs?si=vY7ysCFZuDbiEhst
2. Radical Acceptance  Radical acceptance is acknowledging a situation, emotion, or circumstance without judgment or resistance, even if it’s painful or unwanted.–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrjo2bFOQyk
3. Listen to one night and don’t panic affirmations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKu3jzt25aQ
4. LET THEM  The ONE Trick You Need to Master to Live a Peaceful and Fulfilled Life |…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4z5C8G32AY
5. Positive Affirmations for Peace and Calm | Reduce Stress & Anxiety by Lavendaire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS6KlpzDNS0
6. Self affirmation By Lavendaire You are enough my favorite saying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS6KlpzDNS0
7. 33 Positive Affirmations to Change Your Life by Lavendaire
htps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efZFARmGyMs
8.Positive Affirmations to Manifest Your Dream Life By Lavendaire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CtiouwHOxw
9. Gratitude Affirmations ✨ Daily Affirmations to Attract Positivity & Abun…By Lavendaire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhuhLc69hF0
10. Radical Acceptance of things out of your control by K. Wackett
https://youtu.be/XdslLgx1Qn4?si=bhXBc4VQsLmWYIcZ
Health, Spiritual

Are You Grumpy? Me, Too.

12 Comments
brown bear looking grumpy
Thank you, Pisabay.

“Are You Grumpy? Me, Too.” by Joan Y. Edwards

One morning you wake up feeling what is best described as grumpy.  There is no one around. No one caused it. Across from you in the mirror is this big grumpy bear.

You say to yourself. This reflection can’t be right. You check in another mirror. There facing you is a man who is so angry, he’s turned into a huge muscular man as green as the Hulk.

The hulk, muscular green man
So Angry, I Turned into the a big green monster like the Hulk

Thinking this must be a dream. You go to a third mirror in your house. You ease up on it slowly.  You don’t know what to expect. There in the third mirror is an image of you crying tears, lots of tears.

Thank you, Pixabay.

You sit down on the floor. You cry and cry along with the lady in the mirror.

How can this be?  Why are  the multitudes of emotions hitting you at one time? Why today?

If you’re like me, you may never know all the reasons why. You may not actually know any of the reasons why. However, being human, you may want a place to put the blame. Someone to blame for your grumpiness, your anger, your sadness.

Today many people blame the Corona Virus.  It’s partly to blame.

Another thing to blame is that you are not perfect. You are human. Sometimes the stress of everything creeps up on you and weakens your immune system. In this immune system is your emotional ability to cope with stress.

In times of stress, the “Me, Myself, and I” within you, the voices of your inner critic  get busy talking against you.

“You’re dumb.”
“You’re not fast enough.”
“You can’t do anything right.”
“You’ll never get what you want.”
“You’re hopeless.”

In your defense, you start blaming the person or the thing you believe is causing you stress.

First thing to do is accept that it is okay to be grumpy, angry, and sad or a combination of all these emotions and more. Accepting yourself as you are is a way to strengthen your immune system.

Second thing is to say good things about yourself. Declare positive things about you to offset the negative voice that shouts at you from within.  Your inner spirit will listen to these declarations. If you say them often, the recordings of good words will play in your head more than the negative ones.

“I am smart and wise.”
“I am fast enough to do the things I deem essential.”
“I can do many things right.”
“I get almost everything I want and many things I never dreamed were possible for me to achieve.”
“I believe I can achieve many things. I am full of hope.”

The third thing to do when you’re feeling grumpy is to do something fun. Even a small thing such as drinking hot chocolate or feeding the birds.

There are many other things to do when you get grumpy. How do you handle it when you are grumpy?

When I’m grumpy, I watch a good movie with a happy ending or listen to my favorite music. Music can change your mood in a hurry.

Other Resources to Help

  1. “Five Ways to Get Your Inner Critic to Shut Up:” https://www.publicationcoach.com/5-ways-to-get-your-inner-critic-to-shut-up/
  2. “Five Immediate and Easy Ways to Silence Your Inner Critic:”https://tinybuddha.com/blog/5-immediate-and-easy-ways-to-silence-your-inner-critic/ 
  3. “Four Ways to Overcome Your inner Critic:” https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/compassion-matters/201305/4-ways-overcome-your-inner-critic

Please leave a comment. What do you do when you get grumpy?

Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards, Author

Copyright © 2009-2021 Joan Y. Edwards

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