Get Off Your Own Back. It Is Time to Roar.

Most women are their own worst critics. The internal dialogue is relentless, specific, and brutal in ways no one on the outside would dare be.

It is not truth. It is a habit. And habits can be changed.

1. Notice What You Are Saying to Yourself

You cannot change what you cannot see. The first step is simply to notice the internal dialogue that runs in the background of your life.

If you were teaching a little girl how to ride a bike and she kept falling, you would not tell her she was stupid. You would encourage her, pick her up, tell her she was getting it.

Would you say to that little girl what you are currently saying to yourself? If the answer is no, something needs to change.

You are so awesome. You have mad strengths and skills. You were born on this planet to do something only you can do.

2. Replace the Critic With a Coach

Criticism does not produce better results. Evidence shows that what produces better results is encouragement, accountability, and the belief that improvement is possible.

Your internal voice does not have to be falsely positive. It can be honest. But there is a difference between honest and cruel. Between naming what needs to change and cataloguing every failure.

A coach tells you the truth and believes in your capacity to handle it. Start coaching yourself instead of criticizing yourself.

3. Give Yourself the Grace You Give Everyone Else

You extend grace to the people around you daily. When a friend makes a mistake, you do not write her off. When a colleague struggles, you do not conclude she is fundamentally broken. You assume good intent and trust the capacity for growth.

You deserve that same grace.

You have survived things that would have stopped other people. You have shown up when you did not want to. You are still here, still going, still wanting things to be better. That is not weakness. That is extraordinary.

Life is happening for you. And no matter what happens, you got this.