Slaying Your Inner Critic:

Carrie Jo
Jun 1
2 min read

Updated: Jun 3

Your No-BS Guide to Shutting Down Self-Doubt and Owning Your Worth

Your inner critic is not you. It’s a story you’ve been carrying around for way too long—like an old sweater that doesn’t even fit anymore, but for some reason, you still wear it. It whispers all the reasons why you can’t, why you shouldn’t, why you’ll never, and you listen because, well, you’ve been trained to.

It’s time to untrain that noise.

What Is the Inner Critic (and Why Is It So Loud)?

The inner critic is that voice in your head that sounds like a mean girl at a middle school sleepover. It’s quick to judge, quick to shame, and really good at convincing you that you’re not good enough. It says things like:

“You’re not qualified.”
“You’re too old to start over.”
“You’ll fail, just like last time.”
“If you were really good, you’d have figured this out by now.”

Sound familiar? Yep. Me too.

The inner critic is not your truth. It’s a collection of old fears, outdated beliefs, and other people’s expectations that you’ve absorbed over time. The more you listen, the stronger it gets.

How to Slay Your Inner Critic Like a Pro

This isn’t about “just thinking positive” or “manifesting your dreams.” That’s surface-level fluff. This is about learning how to fight back.

Inner Critic Slayer Framework:

1. Name It to Tame It

Give that critic a name. Call her Pitty Party Polly, Negative Nancy, Doomsday Donna or whatever name sounds right for you.

Naming it separates it from you. It’s not your voice. It’s just noise.

2. Interrupt the Narrative

When your inner critic starts yapping, don’t let her run the show.

Pause. Take a breath.

Ask yourself:

“Is this true? Is there any proof?”

Spoiler: most of the time, it’s not true, and there’s zero proof.

Then say (out loud if you have to):

“I see you. I hear you. But I don’t believe you.”

That simple move recognizes the critic and shuts her down.

3. Flip the Script

Replace Doomsday Donna's lies with your truth.

Example:

Critic: “You’ll never figure this out.”

You: “I’ve figured out harder things. I’ve got this.”

Critic: “You’re not enough.”

You: “I am more than enough, and I’m just getting started.”

4. Take Action Anyway

The ultimate way to shut down your critic is to do the thing anyway.

Every time you do the thing your critic says you can’t do (whether it’s speaking up in a meeting, signing up for that course, or finally hitting “publish” on your post), you prove that voice wrong.

And every time you prove her wrong, she gets quieter.

Confidence isn’t some mystical feeling that appears out of nowhere. It’s the result of doing the hard thing, again and again, until you realize, “Hey, I can handle this.”

Your Inner Critic Is Not the Boss of You

Your inner critic will pop up. That’s normal.

But when you know how to spot it, question it, and keep moving anyway, you build resilience, confidence, and a whole lot of badass energy.