That voice in your head that pipes up with “you’re not good enough” or “you always mess this up” can be loud, annoying, and oddly convincing.
However, it’s certainly not the truth. It’s just noise that shows up when you’re trying to do something new, brave, or even just mildly inconvenient. Here are a few ways to leave it totally speechless (and maybe even a bit embarrassed). After all, you deserve to feel as amazing as you are, so shut down that pesky inner critic who tries to talk you down.
1. Talk to it like it’s someone else.
Seriously, give it a name. Imagine your inner critic is a nosy neighbour or a moany colleague. When it starts running its mouth, talk back like you would to someone who’s overstepped. “Thanks for your input, Sandra, but I’ve got this.” Distance helps. It stops the voice from feeling like a core truth and turns it into what it actually is: just one version of the story—one you don’t have to listen to, and especially not before coffee.
2. Ask, “Would I say this to a mate?”
If your best friend messed something up or was feeling low, would you say, “Wow, you’ve really failed at life”? Probably not. So why is it okay to say it to yourself? It’s not. At all. This little question helps snap you out of the spiral and brings in some perspective. If you wouldn’t say it to someone you love, you definitely don’t need to take it from your own brain.
3. Say the thoughts out loud in a stupid voice.
This one sounds ridiculous, and that’s the point. Try repeating your critical thoughts in a silly accent or robot voice. The more dramatic and absurd, the better. It makes the whole thing feel way less scary or serious. Hearing “you’re useless” in a cartoon duck voice takes the sting out instantly. It reminds you that your thoughts aren’t facts—they’re just mental pop-ups with bad timing.
4. Interrupt it with facts.
When the voice tells you that you’re terrible at everything, hit back with some actual proof. “Really? Because I’ve done this before and it went fine. And also, I’m literally still here.” Cold, hard facts can shut the critic up fast. It doesn’t need to be grand. Even something simple like “I got through that thing last week” is enough. The point is to stop the spiral with reality, not recycled self-doubt.
5. Get specific about what it’s saying.
Instead of letting it drone on with vague “you’re not good enough” nonsense, get curious. What exactly are you supposedly not good at? What part of this is such a disaster? Often, the minute you dig into the details, the voice falls apart. Vagueness is its favourite trick. Clarity makes it squirm. So if you start picking apart the statement, it’ll either quiet down, or just start sounding too ridiculous to take seriously.
6. Remember where it came from.
A lot of that critical noise didn’t start with you. Maybe it was a teacher, a parent, or someone else who had their own hang-ups. Over time, their voice gets stuck in your head and starts wearing your voice like a disguise. Once you realise the critic isn’t really you, it becomes a lot easier to ignore. You’re not being “realistic”—you’re repeating things someone else once said that never really fit in the first place.
7. Don’t argue—mock it.
Trying to argue with your inner critic can sometimes backfire. It loves a debate and will drag you into hours of “yes I can” vs “no you can’t.” Instead of fighting it, try mocking it. “Oh wow, original content! Haven’t heard that one since 2009.” Taking the wind out of its sails with humour works better than logic sometimes. The goal isn’t to win the argument. It’s to make the argument look so silly you stop taking it seriously at all.
8. Write down everything it says, and read it back.
Get it all out onto paper. Write down every grim, critical thought as it comes. Then read it back like a script from the world’s most dramatic inner monologue. You’ll be surprised how harsh or flat-out weird it sounds in print. Once it’s on paper, you can spot patterns. You can challenge things. And most importantly, you take it out of your head where it echoes and into the open where it loses power.
9. Do the thing anyway.
Your inner critic absolutely hates it when you ignore it and get on with things. You don’t need to wait until it shuts up. You just need to do what you were going to do with it mumbling in the background like a cranky satnav. Action is one of the fastest ways to quiet that voice. It can’t argue with results. The more you do things in spite of it, the less influence it holds over you in the long run.
10. Remind yourself it’s trying to protect you—badly.
Sometimes the inner critic is trying to help. It thinks it’s keeping you safe from embarrassment or failure. But its methods are… questionable at best. Pointing this out takes the edge off. “I get that you’re trying to look out for me, but this isn’t helpful.” It’s like a friend who gives advice you didn’t ask for and doesn’t actually want. You can acknowledge it, roll your eyes, and then do what’s best for you anyway.
11. Picture your younger self hearing it.
If that voice was speaking to 10-year-old you, what would you do? Would you sit back and let it rant? Or would you step in, tell it to shut it, and give your younger self a hug and a biscuit? This trick reminds you that there’s still a softer, more sensitive part of you that deserves care—not criticism. Sometimes, imagining that little version of you is enough to snap out of self-hate and into self-protection.
12. Replace it with something real, not fake-positive.
Shouting “I am amazing!” in the mirror might work for some, but if it feels cringey to you, don’t force it. Instead, go for something grounded. “I’m learning.” “I showed up.” “I tried.” These things are true, and they’re usually enough. You don’t have to drown the critic in toxic positivity. Just meet it with something more honest. Something with roots. That’s what leaves it with nothing to say.
