🌿 Meet Your Inner Critic and Learn How to Soften Its Voice

We all have an inner voice that talks to us when we mess up, feel insecure, or hit a rough patch in life. For many of us, that voice isn’t exactly kind.

It’s critical. Harsh. Demanding.
It tells us we’re not good enough, smart enough, lovable enough—or simply “too much.”

💡 That voice is known as the inner critic.

Psychologist Dr. Hal Stone and Dr. Sidra Stone, creators of Voice Dialogue Theory, describe the inner critic as a deeply internalized part of our psyche formed early in life to keep us safe, accepted, and out of trouble.

It mimics authority figures from our past—parents, teachers, culture—and uses judgment or fear to try to “motivate” us or prevent rejection.

But here’s the problem:

When left unchecked, the inner critic doesn’t protect—it sabotages.

It chips away at our confidence, fuels shame, and makes it nearly impossible to feel emotionally safe enough to heal or grow.

🧠 So how do we change that?

✍️ We start by:

• Noticing it.

• Naming it.

• And choosing a new response.

👉Here’s a gentle exercise to help you do just that.