Have you ever caught yourself in the middle of a hard moment, hearing a voice in your head that says something like: "You should have figured this out by now"? Or "This is just who you are"? Or the particularly exhausting one: "Just be positive. Others have it worse."

That voice has a name. And it has a bigger impact on your life than most of us realize.

We all have an inner narrator (AKA inner critic — we all have one. Mine is called Matilda.) It runs continuously, interpreting our e...

Have you ever seen those cartoons where the main character has a tiny little angel on one shoulder, and a little devil on the other? The angel is whispering encouraging and supportive words, “You got this – get back in there.”  and the devil uses words that tear the person down or plant seeds of doubt “It's too late. What were you thinking – you’re just going to humiliate yourself – you don’t have what it takes.”  It’s almost natural to listen to the inner critic, because those messages remind u...

Have you ever felt that even when things appeared to be going well in your life,  the nasty truth in your mind, was that you weren’t good enough, didn’t belong, or that your "incompetence" could be found out? Imposter Syndrome is a belief that your success is not due to your own effort or your own skills. You’re convinced you are a fake, a phony... if "they" only knew that while you present a confident face,  you’re anything but!  Guess what – this is more common than you might think:

Researc...