The little voice in your head is actually your inner saboteur.
When we are children, we are always taught to follow our gut instincts. I have found this to be true in many areas of life. There is definitely an inner compass within us all that lets us know if we are going down the wrong path.
That compass is not to be confused with the little voice inside our head however, which is basically evil.
I jest. Our inner voices aren’t evil. But take a moment right now, and listen to the inner voice inside your head. Chances are, it’s saying: ‘I don’t have an inner voice’.
We all have this voice. It’s the same little voice that will tell you that you aren’t good enough, shouldn’t be eating as much as you do, or don’t look good enough to go to the gym. The point of this little voice is to keep us from taking risks, thereby keeping us safe. The problem with this little voice, is that we think it ‘is’ us.
We get confused this negative little voice, and start to believe the negative, awful things it says. We stop being able to tell the difference between the voice, and our actual thoughts and feelings. The voice keeps us small, and we stay safe, but we don’t grow, because we are acting out of fear, and not taking risks.
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The key to ignoring this little voice is to identify it. Name it. And then treat it like a separate entity.
A good friend of mine named his inner voice ‘the moon man’. Mine is called ‘Anti-Karen’. Once you name this voice, it becomes a lot easier to identify when it is speaking, or trying to keep you from doing something that will ultimately lead to your growth. You won’t always be able to tell the difference between your voice, and yourself. Naming it makes it much easier in the future however, to distinguish between your actual feelings and your fears.
Here are three good reasons why you should ignore your little voice.
It will keep you from growing. Your little voice will tell you to cancel plans because you have a zit, or stay away from the gym because your body isn’t where you want it to be. On your worse days, it will have you thinking you are fat and ugly. If you keep the plans, or hit the gym you are likely to have a much better experience and may discover or learn things you didn’t previously know.
It is a trickster. The little voice in your head’s goal is to try and make you think it is you. It will employ all kinds of emotional tactics to make you forget that it is a separate entity. You will forget, at times. But the very fact that the voice is trying to trick you, should make it that much easier to resist when possible.
It is cruel. The little voice employs very cruel tactics to keep you safe. One way to get around it, is to replace that voice with another. I call this voice ‘the mother’. When your inner voice is berating you and trying to make you feel like crap, think about what your mother would say to that. Say that, instead. At the end of the day our little voices are defense mechanisms, so there really is no way to defeat them entirely. Identifying the voice and naming it makes it a little easier, though. After all, good mental health is a journey, not a destination.