WORKBOOK: Silence the Saboteurs: Overcoming fear, self-doubt and the inner critic
Evict Your Inner Critic!
Are you sick of the fear and doubt that has you second-guessing every dream you have? Are you frustrated by the limiting beliefs that seem to cripple your efforts before you even begin? Are you fed up with the voice in your head that constantly tells you what you cannot do and what you will never be??
This condensed workbook is designed to allow you to start rewiring your brain to shift to a more positive, empowering, and courageous way of thinking. While you will learn some new concepts, this workbook offers practical exercises, activities, and questions for you to engage in as you forge a new future.
This book discusses:
- fear, doubts, limiting beliefs
- unmasking your inner critic
- the value of self-compassion and kindness
- specific strategies you can apply immediately to take back your power
You can begin a new journey to your own personal legacy TODAY. (click on the image to purchase)
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BOOK: The Ultimate Mindset Toolkit: Simple Research-Backed Strategies To Unleash Your Potential, Silence Your Inner Critic, Enhance Your Success and Unshackle Your Mind
Unlock your potential in just weeks, even if you’re overwhelmed and pressed for time.
Are you tired of feeling stuck, constantly battling overwhelming thoughts without a clear path to success? Do you find yourself trapped in cycles of procrastination, unable to silence that inner critic that holds you back? Are you longing for effective, actionable strategies that can inspire and transform your life for good?
If any of these resonate with you, take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. Many individuals, just like you, have faced similar challenges. The game-changer here is this comprehensive toolkit filled with research-backed strategies designed to transform your mindset and empower you towards achieving your true potential!
Here’s just a small peek of what you’ll discover inside The Ultimate Mindset Toolkit:
● The 3-step guide to cultivating a growth mindset and unleashing your full potential.
● Proven techniques to silence your inner critic and boost your self-confidence.
● How to turn procrastination into progress with 8 effective techniques tailored for overanalyzers.
● 4 transformative strategies to overcome impostor syndrome and embrace your achievements.
● The effective ways to reset after personal setbacks and rebuild stronger than ever.
● 5 scientifically-backed methods to foster positive thinking and combat negativity.
● The art of goal setting that inspires action and results, without the fear of failure.
● How famous entrepreneurs use mindset transformations to drive success and how you can do it too.
● 5 daily practices for maintaining a positive mindset amid life’s pressures.
● The quick-start guide to stress relief, tailored for high-pressure environments.
● How to integrate meditation effortlessly into even the busiest of lifestyles.
● The blueprint to successful time management, ensuring personal development doesn’t take a back seat.
And much, much more!
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BOOK:
A third text is in the early planning stages. The topics of Burnout, Challenging Conversations and or Public Speaking are being considered.
These are texts that I have read, learned from and feel comfortable recommending. When possible, I have made the image of the text clickable (to Amazon) for purchase.
TRANSITIONS
Transitions. Change. When where you are fortunate enough to say that where you have been is a place that you love…these things–change and transition– are not easy things. Suddenly I am plagued with fear, doubt, and insecurities. I’m not sure I know who I am, without the occupation I have existed in for forty years. I thought I wrestled with these internal demons a long time ago and was done with this battle. <sigh>
That gets me to the place of a hard look in the mirror. “Whachagonnado, Suzanne?? Run because it’s DIFFERENT? I tell my students to look at their fear, say hello (no need to be rude), and quietly close the door on it, because there is a place of new growth, new opportunity and new skills, just around the corner and fear needs to be stared down. Then, I tell my students, it’s time turn away from that door and start working.
Here I am, determined to practice what I preach. So…
Fear–I see you. You don’t like change. Get over it. The best things happen with change. GROWTH happens with change. I’m not gonna let you control me. I DO know my discipline and I DO believe that communication matters. It can launch a career, save a marriage, and bring such a harvest of great interactions. I DO care about the folks I can help, and that won’t change just because they might not be at the university/college. So you can take your lies somewhere else–my ears ain’t listening no more.
I’ve got stuff to do.
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INNER CRITICS
Got a voice in your head? Yeah, me too. “Why did you do…,” “You should do…,” or “What’s wrong with you?” “You are NOT the right person for this…,”
Over time, these comments (from both others and ourselves) internalize and become our ‘inner critic,’ the persistent negative self-talk that keeps us stuck” (Eddins 2026). Do you have an inner critic?
One of my favorite books on this topic is the 1983 classic “Taming your Gremlin” by Rick Carson. It was given to me last year by a dear friend at a critical juncture in my life when I came face to face with my own inner critic in a pretty vicious encounter. Since then, I decided to deeply study the internal voice that tends to play havoc with my goals and dreams. I’ve come to learn a lot about her. (Even drew her picture!)
I named her Ennazus (the reverse of my name, Suzanne). She was born when I was 8 and I essentially “failed” 3rd grade. I went to a small school with 30 kids in each grade. There are no secrets in a small school, and everyone knew I failed. Then began long years of playground bullies and hiding in the bathroom during recess. My nickname was dog and I fully accepted this. Obviously, if you believe that you are trash, you tend to allow others to treat you as trash and so my teenage years were pretty traumatic. During this time, Ennazus dominated my thinking and I believed I was broken. This all began to shift for me when I hit college. First of all, I found something I was pretty good at (I had been asked to join the college speech & debate team) and then I had a deeply personal faith encounter—both of these forced me to confront the lies I had accepted about myself. I began to slowly see value and potential and I began the journey to refute my inner critic. In fact, I wrote her an eviction letter…one of the most cathartic, empoweriung things I have ever done.
Can you relate? Maybe you don’t have a fully developed “gremlin”, but you have those nagging voices in your head that tell you that you can’t do it. How can you identify the voice and presence of your inner critic and your limiting beliefs? The key thing here is to get that voice out of the dark, out of the periphery, and into the light.
You get to choose what voice you will listen to.
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LANGUAGE
I’m a rhetoric girl. Always have been, probably always will be. In my first grad degree, I read enough Aristotle and Plato to make the average person nauseous. Debates about where truth lay, in the person or in the words they spoke, ran through my seminars. I explored the five canons, logos-ethos-pathos, dissected syllogisms and enthymenes, and (my favorite) explored the world of the rhetorical situation. Rhetorical theory soon became one of my favorite topics. Weird, maybe. But it still fascinates me.
Aristotle referred to rhetoric, the art of persuasion, as ultimate power. Why? Because persuasion influences individuals. And if you can persuade one, you can persuade many…the masses of humanity. Therein lies great power. He went on to argue that there was no greater pursuit in one’s life, that that of pursuing the art of rhetoric.
I can follow his argument and, to a large degree, I very much agree. Look at history and you can see some of the greatest historical figures who used their rhetoric, their persuasion, their language, for good…or for the greatest of evils. On the good side, I immediately think of Jesus and Gandhi…on the evil side, Hitler is the unavoidable example.
But it’s not just “history” per se…it’s just as true today and will still be true tomorrow. Think about it: you can destroy someone today, with your words. Someone who loves you, who is vulnerable to you–if you were to unleash a torrent of cruel, demeaning, and brutal language targeted at them, you could rip their heart to shreds. Crush them. Wound them in a manner so deep that they may carry the scars forever. You don’t need a gun for this–words will do it.
And you and I often blunder about, through the days, tossing around our words, often with little thought to the power they wield. Crazy.
But there is SO MUCH good our rhetoric, our persuasion, our language can do. A real example: my son sent me the sweetest text this morning. Remembering it, hours later, still brings a smile and warmth to my heart. Words.
I will fight to use my words for good. I want to speak in a manner that brings joy and smiles. I want that warmth to settle in someone’s heart as they remember the sweetness of my words. And if in turn, they then use their own words to spread smiles, then language is indeed powerful.
Shannon Dean Collaborations
SDC empowers individuals and organizations to excel in communication through expert coaching, consulting, and training led by Dr. Suzanne Uhl. While Suzanne is located in Claremont, California, her connections and guidance are not limted to the state! Don’t hesitate to reach out