Taming Your Brain Voice: A Beginner’s Guide to Calling Out Your Inner Critic
You know that nagging voice in your head? The one that says,
“You’re not good enough.”
“Everyone’s judging you.”
“Why even try?”
Yeah. That’s your inner critic.
I call mine Brain Voice — and it can be a lot.
It’s dramatic, snarky, and always shows up at the exact wrong time (like right before a presentation or when I’m about to post something online).
Here’s the thing: the goal isn’t to silence it forever (spoiler… that voice never fully shuts up). The trick is learning to call it out so it stops running your life.
Step 1: Notice When It Shows Up
Your inner critic has patterns. Mine loves to pop-up when I’m trying something new, when I’m tired, or when I’m already stretched thin.
Pay attention to the moments your Brain Voice gets the loudest:
When you make a mistake
When you’re learning something new
When you compare yourself to others
When you’re about to do something brave
This awareness is everything. Once you start noticing its script, you can stop automatically believing it.
Pro tip: Write down its favorite lines for a week. Seeing them on paper helps you recognize how repetitive (and kinda boring) they actually are.
Step 2: Name It to Tame It
It sounds silly, but naming your inner critic works.
Once you call it “Brain Voice” (or whatever nickname fits), you create distance.
You’re no longer inside the thought… you’re the observer hearing it.
Sometimes my Brain Voice sounds like a sarcastic asshole coworker.
Other times it’s a strict teacher, a know-it-all, or a full-on drama queen.
It changes based on the day, but the result is the same: it tries to keep me “safe” by keeping me small.
When you name it, you strip away its authority. You start to see it for what it is: an overprotective (and often wrong) narrator trying to run the show.
Name yours something that makes you smirk or roll your eyes a little.
Because the moment you can see it as a voice instead of the truth, you take back control.
Step 3: Talk Back (humor and swearing help)
When my Brain Voice tells me, “Everyone thinks you look like a jackass when you sing and dance around at concerts,” I laugh. Out loud.
Because when it sounds ridiculous, it’s easier to stop believing it.
You don’t need to argue. Just interrupt the pattern with something playful: “GFY, Brain Voice. I’m having a blast and the truth is NO ONE GIVES A SHIT about me”
The more you respond with humor, the less power it has.
Book Bite: A Thought from Mark Manson
“The more something threatens your identity, the more you will avoid it.”
— Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
I love this one! Your inner critic usually shows up strongest when you are standing on the edge of doing something that challenges your self-image, trying something new, showing up differently, or putting yourself out there.
Naming and talking back to your inner critic helps you notice when it’s really just panicking about identity threat. When you keep going anyway, you retrain your brain to see discomfort as growth, not danger.
Final Thoughts
Your inner critic isn’t going away.
But it doesn’t have to drive the bus.
You can notice it, name it, and decide whether it gets a say.
Next time it chimes in, take a breath and talk back:
“Suck it, Brain Voice. I’m in charge here, asshole!”
🪜 Ready for the Next Step?
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Keep an eye out for my upcoming 1-hour workshop where we’ll dive deeper into this fixed vs. growth stuff and I’ll teach you exactly how to start showing your brain who’s boss—without turning into a self-help robot.
