Adjust Your Inner Voice for Greater Resilience
We all have an inner narrator. You know—the voice in your head, your version of Jiminy Cricket on your shoulder, your conscience, or even your inner wise warrior who helps you navigate life. The challenge for so many of us is that our inner voice is more like a perfectionistic drill sergeant than a voice of reason, compassion, or love.
My inner voice can be downright mean sometimes. What about yours?
As a person with ADHD, this voice often tells me, If I unmask, people won’t like me. Or it says things like, I need to talk more/talk less and People are just being nice to me, but they don’t really want to hang out with me.
Your inner voice is shaped by your past experiences. If you were raised by people and in communities that celebrated you, gave you positive feedback for being just who you are and loved you unconditionally, your inner voice may be an angel.
But if you had a harder upbringing or childhood, chances are that as an adult your inner voice is quite harsh and critical. Especially in vulnerable moments or times when you’re feeling insecure, on the spot, or unworthy.
Thankfully, your inner voice isn’t set in stone. It is possible to retrain your inner voice to become an inner friend. And when this transition happens, you begin to develop a greater sense of resilience in the face of adversity, because instead of beating yourself up you encourage yourself more lovingly to try again, practice harder, or even let it go.