It’s not just you. It’s present in people who exude confidence, too. We all have an internal voice that chastises us for not being good enough at certain things, and lets us know when we have screwed something up. The question is, how much do you let it run the show?

Although I have done a lot of work on taming my own Inner Critic over the years, it remains an ongoing process. It still pops up when I am feeling unsure of myself, when I make myself vulnerable, when I don’t reach the level of success I’d hoped for in a particular endeavor. After all these years, it still hasn’t moved out. We’ve been talking in my coaching consultation group about why this is. I mean really, what is the deal?! Well, here’s my understanding of it, which I hope will offer some helpful insight.

In one sense, our…