Emotional Support Sisters

Inner analyst 

Amelia and I have had a few discussions lately about our inner critic.  As we have been discussing it I realized that at some point in my life my inner critic has turned into an inner analyst.

What is the difference between an inner analyst and an inner critic?

I’ll start with how they are the same.  They both go over previous events, social interactions, or other happenings.

They are different in how they go over the information and the conclusions made.

Let’s say you do something embarrassing. The inner critic will say things like “That was so dumb.” “You’re an idiot.” “How could you do something like that?” With the final conclusion being you are dumb and should never be let out into public again.

The inner analyst does acknowledge when you did something embarrassing and admit that it was probably a dumb thing to do. After that is where it differs from the critic. The dialogue might look more like “You’ve done embarrassing things before and people still talks to you.” “Next time your in a similar situation let’s do ______ instead of what we just did.” 

The critic breaks you down. The analyst learns from the situation and tries to apply the information to new or similar situations so you can make improvements, while also acknowledging that you are only human.

How do you turn your critic into an analyst?

Practice! Start with small scenarios, they could even be stories you’re reading or watching. Replay them in your mind and change the negative moments to positive. Then try and apply it in real life in real time.

It takes time, practice, patience, and self love to turn your inner critic to your inner analyst.

Missy