The Inner Critic
The Inner Critic is that little demon in your head that compares your 14” biceps with Mr. Universe’s 22’s. You can’t compete, so why bother? Wrong! Negative thinking creates performance anxiety that shuts down your drive to compete. If you can free yourself of self-doubt you can find the energy to bulk up with the best of them.
Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter, author of Your Performance Edge (Pulgas Ridge Press, 2004) says, “Your mind is a thought factory: it produces 50,000 thoughts per day. Where your mind goes your energy follows.” Dahlkoetter believes it is possible to direct your mind so that your thoughts create the reality you desire.
Guy Grundy, Mr. Australia, agrees. “The best method is knowing what you wish to attain. If you don’t know what you want, you go through life as someone who is led, rather than being the leader.” So Grundy sets goals for his top three priorities in life: family, acting, and bodybuilding. “Once you know what you want,” says Grundy, “you can plan for achieving those goals.” When things aren’t going his way, Grundy thinks about what he wants to achieve. He realizes it’s tough to be continuously positive. “We all get kicked down on our ass from time to time, but that doesn’t matter. “All that matters is that we get back up and continue on towards our dreams.”
Dahlkoetter is aware of inner demons.
She says, “Within every athlete resides a negative inner voice that is primed to attack and judge you.” This little voice can make you nervous before important events interrupting your focus and keeping you from doing your absolute best.
It is hard to believe that Grundy, world Champion 2001 and the only person to ever hold both national titles for JFBB and NABBA to have negative thoughts. Grundy says, “The first time I competed at the World Championships in Vienna, Austria I felt overwhelmed by the size of the guys I was competing against. My inner critic was on fire.” Grundy took 2nd by one point that day. He knew he could have done better.
To learn how to put the Inner Critic’s voice to rest, Dahlkoetter suggests making a chart with three columns. The first column is for the negative thoughts. Write them down as they arise. In the second column, note the time of day the negative thoughts occur. In the third column write a positive reconstruction. This is your idea to fight that inner demon. For example, you may think, “I’m never going to get bigger, look at those guys.” A positive reconstruction might be, “Wait a second! My journal shows I gained two inches in my chest.I am making progress.” Through this awareness you can stop the cycle of negative thinking and develop a more positive attitude.
Once aware of the Inner Critic and its negative mind set you can develop effective ways to talk back to this inner demon. For example, when the Critic pops its ugly thoughts at you and says, “You can’t win!” you simply say to yourself, “Stop this garbage!” or “Shut up.” Then do something physical such as slapping your hand or punching your thigh. Dahlkoetter says, “The combination of physical movement and verbal expression wakes you up and makes thought interruption more likely breaking the chain of negative thoughts.”
ACE certified trainer, Steve Morris says, “When the Inner Critic torments me I say, ‘I know what you’re trying to do, and you can’t come in.’ It’s almost like being a bouncer at a night club. You don’t need logic. You just need to tell the voice, ‘I know who you are, and I’m not going to argue with you. You don’t get access, period. And I’m throwing you out.”
Another way to disarm the Inner Critic is to think about the price it costs you when you permit it to open its big mouth. Athletes report that when the Inner Critic starts bad mouthing them they don’t push themselves as hard during training, they become defensive with their coaches, or avoid trying new workout routines for fear of doing poorly.
To stop these flows of negative thinking assess the personal cost. Develop a list that shows how the inner demon has affected your training, work, and sex life. Then come up with a catchy phrase the next time that negative guy attacks. When it says, “You’re not good enough,” you come back with, “I’m not listening. You cost me two titles and the hottest babe at Bally’s.”
Now that the Inner Critic is quiet, replace its voice with a positive affirmation of your own self-worth. Dahlkoetter says, “The critic would have you believe that you need to always prove your value in life.” For example, the trophies you acquired and notches on your weight belt. “In reality,” she says, “our true value lies in our existence as human beings.” Just the pleasure obtained from a good workout should prove our self-worth rather than trying to justify that we are stronger or have bigger biceps than the next guy. “This is our self-worth, our humanness.”
So get back out there and pump iron next to Mr. Universe. And if that Inner Critic opens its mouth, tell it to “SHUSH!” You’re too busy improving yourself to listen to such nonsense.
About the Author: Dane Fletcher is the world's foremost training authority. He writes exclusively for GetAnabolics.com, a leading online provider of Bodybuilding Supplements. For more information, please visit http://www.GetAnabolics.com
Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter, author of Your Performance Edge (Pulgas Ridge Press, 2004) says, “Your mind is a thought factory: it produces 50,000 thoughts per day. Where your mind goes your energy follows.” Dahlkoetter believes it is possible to direct your mind so that your thoughts create the reality you desire.
Guy Grundy, Mr. Australia, agrees. “The best method is knowing what you wish to attain. If you don’t know what you want, you go through life as someone who is led, rather than being the leader.” So Grundy sets goals for his top three priorities in life: family, acting, and bodybuilding. “Once you know what you want,” says Grundy, “you can plan for achieving those goals.” When things aren’t going his way, Grundy thinks about what he wants to achieve. He realizes it’s tough to be continuously positive. “We all get kicked down on our ass from time to time, but that doesn’t matter. “All that matters is that we get back up and continue on towards our dreams.”
Dahlkoetter is aware of inner demons.
She says, “Within every athlete resides a negative inner voice that is primed to attack and judge you.” This little voice can make you nervous before important events interrupting your focus and keeping you from doing your absolute best.
It is hard to believe that Grundy, world Champion 2001 and the only person to ever hold both national titles for JFBB and NABBA to have negative thoughts. Grundy says, “The first time I competed at the World Championships in Vienna, Austria I felt overwhelmed by the size of the guys I was competing against. My inner critic was on fire.” Grundy took 2nd by one point that day. He knew he could have done better.
To learn how to put the Inner Critic’s voice to rest, Dahlkoetter suggests making a chart with three columns. The first column is for the negative thoughts. Write them down as they arise. In the second column, note the time of day the negative thoughts occur. In the third column write a positive reconstruction. This is your idea to fight that inner demon. For example, you may think, “I’m never going to get bigger, look at those guys.” A positive reconstruction might be, “Wait a second! My journal shows I gained two inches in my chest.I am making progress.” Through this awareness you can stop the cycle of negative thinking and develop a more positive attitude.
Once aware of the Inner Critic and its negative mind set you can develop effective ways to talk back to this inner demon. For example, when the Critic pops its ugly thoughts at you and says, “You can’t win!” you simply say to yourself, “Stop this garbage!” or “Shut up.” Then do something physical such as slapping your hand or punching your thigh. Dahlkoetter says, “The combination of physical movement and verbal expression wakes you up and makes thought interruption more likely breaking the chain of negative thoughts.”
ACE certified trainer, Steve Morris says, “When the Inner Critic torments me I say, ‘I know what you’re trying to do, and you can’t come in.’ It’s almost like being a bouncer at a night club. You don’t need logic. You just need to tell the voice, ‘I know who you are, and I’m not going to argue with you. You don’t get access, period. And I’m throwing you out.”
Another way to disarm the Inner Critic is to think about the price it costs you when you permit it to open its big mouth. Athletes report that when the Inner Critic starts bad mouthing them they don’t push themselves as hard during training, they become defensive with their coaches, or avoid trying new workout routines for fear of doing poorly.
To stop these flows of negative thinking assess the personal cost. Develop a list that shows how the inner demon has affected your training, work, and sex life. Then come up with a catchy phrase the next time that negative guy attacks. When it says, “You’re not good enough,” you come back with, “I’m not listening. You cost me two titles and the hottest babe at Bally’s.”
Now that the Inner Critic is quiet, replace its voice with a positive affirmation of your own self-worth. Dahlkoetter says, “The critic would have you believe that you need to always prove your value in life.” For example, the trophies you acquired and notches on your weight belt. “In reality,” she says, “our true value lies in our existence as human beings.” Just the pleasure obtained from a good workout should prove our self-worth rather than trying to justify that we are stronger or have bigger biceps than the next guy. “This is our self-worth, our humanness.”
So get back out there and pump iron next to Mr. Universe. And if that Inner Critic opens its mouth, tell it to “SHUSH!” You’re too busy improving yourself to listen to such nonsense.
About the Author: Dane Fletcher is the world's foremost training authority. He writes exclusively for GetAnabolics.com, a leading online provider of Bodybuilding Supplements. For more information, please visit http://www.GetAnabolics.com
posted by GetAnabolics.com at
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