Are you playing small? Is that because you were told you’ll never amount to anything?

According to Dr. Joe Rubino, the world’s leading authority on self-esteem optimization, many times as children we were told that we weren’t good enough. We may have gotten the message that we were not worthy of the best things in life and we accepted and absorbed these negative ideas.

This could have come from parents, grandparents, whomever. Regardless of whom it was we believed them. And now we have a voice inside our heads that takes on this person’s words to remind us of our inferiority.

Whether this negative chatter started with your misinterpretations or with someone else’s misguided words you have the ability to recognize that these thoughts are not true. More critically, they do not support your happiness and you have the power to stop your inner critic every time she speaks against you.

This voice may tell you that life isn’t bad if you live it quietly. She may tell you it’s too stressful to try to accomplish great things. Maybe you think your life is okay. But isn’t it true that your life lacks the passion and power you might experience by playing at a higher level? Are you genuinely happy continuing to live a lack-lustre life?

By developing higher self-esteem you can reclaim your greatness and create lots of possibilities for living your best life! Yes, it’s true that you may experience some level of stress by getting out of your comfort zone but there are greater levels of joy and fulfillment awaiting you on the other side.

Here’s an exercise to shift things:
For the next week as you go about your day notice each time your inner critic puts you down and keeps you playing small. Write down each negative thought you have about yourself. Start observing the difference between your inner critic’s voice and your intuition-the voice of wisdom.