789. Expert Interview: How to Silence Your Inner Critic

Susan Peppercorn

Susan Peppercorn is a thought leader in career management. She is the author of the bestselling, Ditch Your Inner Critic at Work: Evidence-Based Strategies to Thrive in Your Career, and is a contributor to Harvard Business Review and Fast Company. Her coaching and talks are based on the principles of positive psychology—how the resilient, creative and fulfilling aspects of living can be learned and applied. Before becoming a coach, Susan spent 20 years in business development and marketing in high technology and higher education. She is accredited by the International Coaching Federation and is an executive mentor for the Healthcare Business Women’s Association.

How to Silence Your Inner Critic

“What I have found, having coached hundreds of executives is that no matter how successful they are, by all measures and standards, almost all of them I would say of those that I’ve met, do suffer from an inner critic. And it really started me thinking on why is this the case? Because again, no matter how successful someone is, you know oftentimes that that inner critic speaks much more loudly than it should given the person’s success.”

Why Is This Important?

“One of the things that people don’t realize is that our brains biologically remember negative occurrences more than we remember positive occurrences. And I think that’s one of the reasons why we tend to be hard on ourselves.”

What Are the Key Lessons Learned Here?

1. We are all self-critical at different times in our lives, it’s just a part of who we are as human beings. But there is a fine line where it can become self-defeating.

2. Reframe what’s happening and really start to question the assumptions you are making about yourself.

3. Ask a few people who know you well to reflect on the times they saw you at your best—what the situation was, what strengths did they notice you used to handle the situation well.

4. There is a distinct difference between excellence and perfectionism. Perfectionism causes people to not be able to move forward because they are always trying to achieve a goal that is unachievable.

5. If you are afraid of doing something, take a few minutes to create a “fear list.” Write down all the things that could go wrong so that you can plan for how to overcome those things.

6. Next, write down what is the cost of not doing what you fear? If you don’t even take the first step to find out, what might you lose?