Your Thursday Three Things for 6 February, 2025 (From Frogman Mindfulness and Men Talking Mindfulness)

Managing Your Inner Critic

Focus Now Training and Men Talking Mindfulness

Feb 06, 2025

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Let’s be real: we all have that voice in our head that tells us we’re not good enough, smart enough, or capable enough. It’s the same voice that second-guesses decisions, rewrites our wins as flukes, and keeps us playing small.

That voice? That’s your inner critic. And if you’re not actively managing it, it’s managing you.

This week on Men Talking Mindfulness, we had an incredible conversation with Dr. Frank Anderson, a trauma therapist and expert on mental resilience, about exactly this—how to quiet that inner critic and stop letting it run the show. Because here’s the truth: you are not your thoughts. That critical voice? It’s just noise. You don’t have to listen to it.

Here’s Frank talking about what “the inner critic” is and where it comes from:

Three Steps to Tame Your Inner Critic

Recognize the Voice The first step to shutting down your inner critic is knowing when it’s talking. If your self-talk sounds like something you wouldn’t say to a friend, it’s probably your inner critic running wild. Dr. Anderson suggests treating that voice like an overprotective but misguided guardian—it’s trying to keep you safe, but it’s not always right.
Reframe the Narrative When that voice starts whispering (or shouting), try this: instead of asking, "Why am I so bad at this?" ask, "What can I learn from this?" The inner critic loves self-doubt, but curiosity disrupts its power. Flip the script and make your self-talk work for you, not against you.
Use Mindfulness to Create Space You don’t have to silence the inner critic completely—you just have to stop letting it take the wheel. This is where mindfulness comes in. When you create space between yourself and your thoughts, you gain control over which ones you choose to believe. Not sure where to start? Grab our FREE 21-Day Mindfulness Course here: https://bit.ly/21daysmindfulness.

This Week’s Three Things to Help You Quiet That Voice

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A guest post by

Men Talking Mindfulness

Men Talking Mindfulness helps individuals and teams train their minds for focus, resilience, and healthy leadership. We offer mental fitness training, with a podcast serving as one of several ways we share the work.