It’s great to be self-aware and all, but having the voice in your head tell you how dumb you sounded in the meeting isn’t helping you one bit. So here are some ways to shut down that inner critic and get out of your head.
Share what you’re stressing about out loud with someone else - Venting really does help sometimes, like when your inner critic just won’t shut up. Talking it out can help clear your head, so you can let put it in perspective and move on.
Think about the advice you’d give a friend going through the same thing - Look at your own situation the way you’d talk to a pal going through it. If you’d tell her, “That comment? That’s no big deal and you’re the only one remembering it,” then you should stop obsessing about it too.
Replace hyper-critical thoughts with accurate statements - Your inner critic is really good at making what happened seem much worse than it actually was. So deal with this by rationally thinking about what went down and being realistic should quiet your critic.
Think about what you can improve - Even though your inner critic can be irrational, it can help you find real flaws you want to improve. So don’t think about it as letting the mean voice in your head win, think about it as tuning into what’s bothering you and how to fix it.
Set a timer for ruminating - Only give your inner critic five or 10 minutes to take over and then distract yourself with something unrelated to take your mind off of it. Spending too much time on the negativity won’t help, but cleaning your kitchen IS a helpful distraction.
Source: PureWow