Hello! HELLO! USA, I’m your Dr. Tania Medina. These words sound familiar: you’re not enough, your hair is too short, you look awful this morning, you’re not going to make it, who do you think you are to deserve it. If you know them, it would be good to learn to identify them consciously, because these phrases may be coming from what I call “The inner saboteur”, that inner voice that constantly presents itself to us, leading us to not want to leave our comfort zone. That’s why this week I’m talking to you about those sabotaging voices such as the perfectionist, the inciter or the critic. It is important that you learn to recognize when the power of internal sabotage takes over and controls your life. That’s why today I propose that once you have identified it, you learn to use it to your advantage and send it to sleep when you don’t need it.
Let’s live every moment together! I am happy to come to you with the certainty that I can inspire you and move you to achieve what you set out to do! Yes, just like that! Just like I have done!
When things don’t go as they seem to, or we have a cluttered mind we are likely to have mixed feelings, and start generating thoughts that don’t match what we really need to hear.
This leads us to experience emotions such as anger or frustration, and are accompanied by what I call “the internal saboteur”, that thought that speaks to you inside and is almost always inconsistent between what you think and what you need.
Attachment to these inner voices will make us feel that it is difficult to make a decision or that we are not enough based on what we really want and what we need.
This character that only exists in our mind sometimes acts as our own advocate, and that is why you cannot forget that the “Internal Saboteur” hates change and will do everything possible to stop you from reaching the goal you want.
However, even though these voices are uncomfortable, deep down they also want to help you evolve and improve. The “Internal Saboteur” tries to simplify when you have to make a decision, because that voice speaks to you making you think, that you cannot achieve it and will encourage you to keep doing the same thing over and over again, without new alternatives, rather than criticizing everything you do.
“It is important that you learn to recognize when the power of internal sabotage takes over you and controls your life. That is why today I propose that once you have identified it, you learn to use it in your favor and send it to sleep when you don’t need it”.
What are these sabotaging voices?
- The internal perfectionist: It is precisely that voice that tells you that you should be better or that you are not enough or capable of achieving the dream you want. It appears when, for example, you see a girl on the street who has a knockout body and internally tells you: You should be better than her, or you will never be able to have that great body.
- The internal inciter: This saboteur will be reminding you where you are supposed to be, it will remind you of everything you have to do to reach that place that you do not occupy in reality. Is it really true that you should be there? I wonder. The prompter will never be satisfied, no matter what you do. He will find a way to make you feel minimal and may even drive you to a very high stress level.
- The inner critic: This inner character will talk to you criticizing you all the time, he will even try to stop you by making you feel that he doesn’t like you, that you are ugly when you look in the mirror, that you don’t deserve love. His conversations with him can become for example: you are eating too much, you should drink more water, you look horrible with that blouse, your hair is too short. In conclusion, he is a strong saboteur against your self-esteem.
Dr Tania’s 5 to send your inner saboteur to sleep.
- Meditate more: Practice 5 minutes a day of being your own observer, without any judgments, with an attitude of curiosity and without attachments will allow you to learn to identify those inner characters. Connect with the present: One way to send your inner saboteur to sleep, is to be aware of the here and now.
- When those thoughts come into your head, focus on something that is happening in the moment: a smell, something you are doing in the moment. When those negative voices come into your mind, learn to play with them and your mind will allow whether they deserve your attention or not.
- Be grateful: Talking to yourself, thanking yourself for every little achievement is a great way to overwhelm those negative voices, which don’t let you progress. Be thankful for everything. Even if you’re not where you want to be.
- Have compassion: Don’t be so hard on yourself. Let the saboteur down, really say what you want to hear, offer yourself messages of calm, love, serenity, strength and faith.
- Be conscious when responding: Surprise the saboteur by giving a conscious response, for example, a smile, writing the response. This will give strength to your authentic self (the observer) and put the negative inner character to sleep. If it tells you for example: you are not going to make it, you are lazy, stay as you are. Simply act consciously and respond with a positive reaction.
How I talk to the internal saboteur
You know that I like to accompany you and with my own examples, so here I show you how I talk to the internal saboteur. The first step is to learn to listen to yourself, to know your conscious self (the observer) and identify the saboteur.
Every time I hear him, telling me something negative about my plan I reply:
“Dear saboteur, I already know that you care a lot about me, however your way of talking to me does not please me, nor does it help me to focus on what I want to achieve. I need more love, more kindness and not criticism. I am going to achieve my goal, thank you for wanting to help me, sorry, go to sleep, because I am going to continue and I am going to achieve my dream, bye”.
