How to Stop Negative Thinking and Quiet Your Inner Critic With Meditation

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”

Negative self-talk

People don’t chase the things they want in life because they’re afraid of failure. They doubt their skills and talents, their intelligence, and their ability to persevere when the going gets tough. But it’s not the possibility of failure that steals your dreams, it’s the fearful thinking that you might fail. People don’t know how to stop negative thinking.

Suppose you wanted to learn how to ride a bicycle. Will you never hop on the bicycle if you knew that you might fall? The thing is falling is a part of learning to ride the bicycle. Similarly, failing in whatever area you get into, is a stepping stone to success.

Don’t Believe The Lies Your Mind Tells You

Brené Brown, a research professor, has studied shame all her life and says that everyone has an inner critic, but the problem occurs when we buy into the lies it sells us. When it says that “you are worth nothing” or “you can’t do it”, you just need to tell your critic that you don’t believe it.

If we let our inner critic talk down to us, eventually we will believe the lies, that we are not good enough or worthy of love. So we need to create some space between ourselves and our negative thoughts. Because you see,

You aren’t your thoughts, you are the witness that responds to them.

In fact, Deepak Chopra says that “the voices in your head do not belong to you. You do not own your thoughts. They’re a part of your conditioned mind”.

How to stop negative thinking: If negative thoughts try to get your attention, just say: “Why, hello there! You’re just a thought, you’re not real, so I’m going to let you pass and focus on something positive”.

Guided Meditation for Abundance & Clarity:

The Power of Meditation

Meditation is a powerful tool to disconnect from your inner critic. It effectively molds your mind and teaches you how to stop negative thinking. To understand why, we need to understand the nature of our mind. Our mind constantly conjures up future scenarios based on fears and worst-case expectations. This is the monkey mind everyone deals with on a daily basis.

But if we this “monkey talk” becomes too negative and our inner critic becomes too harsh, it can impact our emotions and actions negatively, making us live far below our highest potential. This is why we need to learn how to stop negative thinking.

So meditation is powerful here because it disconnects us from the monkey mind, the inner critic that sells us fear-based lies, and creates space for our thoughts to flow through without us getting attached to them. In other words, when you meditate, you are aware that the critic is telling lies. You can observe your negative thoughts without getting attached to them.

The Easiest Meditation Practice Ever

Many people believe that meditation is tough, too boring, and not practical. But the truth is meditation is a powerful tool you can use anywhere, anytime.

Here are the simple steps to do meditation:

1. Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor on a cushion, with your back straight and your hands placed comfortably in your lap.
2. Keep your eyes open, take a deep breath and feel the sensation of breath on your nostrils at each inhale and each exhale.
3. For the next 2-5 minutes keep observing this sensation. If thoughts come, let them come and go. If you find yourself lost in thoughts, gently bring your attention to the sensation. Don’t worry about doing it right or wrong.

Now you know how to stop negative thinking and silence your inner critic. So reclaim your power, do something you have been afraid of – call that old friend, or get a cool haircut – do something to show yourself you aren’t afraid to live!