Hi my love,
Welcome to this inner critic reframe meditation where we transform self-criticism into self-leadership.
Alright,
Sit upright,
Not collapsed,
Not rigid,
Your spine should be straight,
You should feel grounded because confidence begins in posture,
Right?
Place one hand on your chest,
One hand on your abdomen,
And let's start by taking slow inhale in through your nose for a count of 4,
1,
2,
3,
4,
Hold it,
1,
2,
And exhale for a count of 6,
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
Again,
Let's take a deep slow inhale through your nose,
1,
2,
3,
4,
Hold it,
1,
2,
And exhale by making an audible sound,
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
Now come back to your natural rhythm of breathing and silently say to yourself,
I am safe to look within,
I am safe to look within,
Let your nervous system settle,
We are not here to fight your mind,
We are here to retrain it,
Keep breathing gently and softly bring your mind to a recent moment where you judged yourself,
Maybe you thought,
I am not good enough,
Or I always mess things up,
Or they are better than me,
Or I should be further along by now,
Do not analyze it,
Just let the memory float up,
Now instead of becoming the voice,
Imagine it standing in front of you,
Give this inner critic,
This voice a shape,
Is this shape sharp,
Is it small,
Is it loud,
Or is it whispering,
Notice its posture,
Notice this voice is not you,
It is just a pattern,
And say to this voice,
I see you,
I genuinely see you,
Not with anger,
But with authority,
Now ask this voice,
This inner critic,
What are you trying to protect me from,
Inner critic,
What are you trying to protect me from,
Pause and listen without interrupting,
Most criticism is fear in disguise,
Fear of rejection,
Embarrassment,
Failure,
Abandonment,
Or being seen,
Let whatever answer arises come gently,
Now ask this voice,
When did you first start protecting me like this,
Notice what memory or age surfaces,
Perhaps it began years ago,
When you needed protection,
Now say to this voice,
Thank you for trying to keep me safe,
Thank you for trying to keep me safe,
Now feel what happens in your body,
When you replace resistance with recognition,
You notice that your energy softens,
Now straighten your spine slightly,
This is where you shift from survival into self-leadership,
Look at that inner critic again,
Imagine it shrinking slightly,
Not disappearing per se,
Just reducing in intensity,
Say clearly out loud,
I am not in danger,
I am growing,
You don't need to be loud anymore,
Now visualize placing the hand gently on its shoulder,
Reassign its job,
So instead of you are not good enough,
It now says,
How can we improve this,
Instead of you will embarrass yourself,
It now says,
Let's prepare well,
Instead of,
Oh wait,
Don't try,
You will fail,
It now says,
Let's take the next step carefully,
Do you feel the difference,
Criticism becomes coaching and protection becomes strategy,
Now bring awareness back into your chest,
Imagine a warm golden light expanding from your heart,
This is your mature voice,
Your grounded authority,
Repeat slowly,
I can correct myself without attacking myself,
I cannot screw this up,
I lead my mind,
Growth does not require cruelty,
See how liberating it feels,
Take a deep breath in and release it fully,
Feel the calm strength,
Feel the stability and see the inner critic now standing beside you,
Much smaller,
Much quieter and very cooperative,
It is no longer running the show,
You are,
You took your power back,
Kudos to you for that,
Take one deep breath in through your nose,
Inhaling confidence,
Exhaling tension,
Gently wiggle your fingers,
Roll your shoulders and when you open your eyes,
Carry this awareness,
You are allowed to improve without punishing yourself,
You are allowed to stretch without shaming yourself,
You are not your inner critic,
You are the one who leads it,
You always have the power,
You are supremely powerful my love.
