Your Inner Critic Is an Asshole with Gene Hammett, CEO Coach

In this episode, I explore the pervasive concept of the inner critic—the negative voice that often cultivates self-doubt and fear, obstructing our growth. I share my own experiences with this "asshole," recognizing its tendency to exploit our vulnerabilities while emphasizing that it shouldn't dictate our actions. The discussion highlights the significance of identifying this inner dialogue, especially during pivotal moments in our lives and careers. Through anecdotes from my work with ambitious leaders, I demonstrate how the inner critic surfaces and the importance of confronting it by naming and acknowledging its presence. Drawing parallels to my experiences in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I stress the value of perseverance in overcoming fear to foster resilience against self-doubt and encourage continuous personal development. My aim is to provide insights that empower you to embrace challenges and drive meaningful change.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  My inner critic is an asshole because it knows exactly what to say to cause doubt. And that doubt stops me. And I know that when I listen to it, maybe there's some sage advice to address the risk, but I can't let it stop me. I've heard this once before, I'm not sure who said it, but fear is never a good partner in decision making. If you are afraid of making the investment, if you are afraid of hiring someone that it's a higher salary, maybe it's a sign that you need to minimize the risk, but you don't let it stop you. Your inner critic is something that knows exactly how to say and use logic to get you to focus on something else. Welcome to Growth Think Tank.

• 0:43Speaker 00

  This is the one and only place where you will get insight from the founders and the CEOs of the fastest growing privately held companies. I am the host. My name is Gene Hammett. I help leaders and their teams navigate the defining moments of their growth. Are you ready to grow? Today, I want to talk about something that I've talked about before, but maybe you're new to my world and you're not sure what the inner critic is. When you think about change, when you think about evolving, every time you've done this, you've probably had a little voice inside your head that has whispered something to you, stirred up the doubt and fear. Well, that's your inner critic. Now, I jokingly say this, but your inner critic is an asshole. Yep, I said it.

• 1:26Speaker 00

  My inner critic is an asshole because it knows exactly what to say to cause doubt. And that doubt stops me. And I know that when I listen to it, maybe there's some sage advice to address the risk, but I can't let it stop me. I've heard this once before, I'm not sure who said it, but fear is never a good partner in decision making. If you are afraid of making the investment, if you are afraid of hiring someone that it's a higher salary, maybe it's a sign that you need to minimize the risk, but you don't let it stop you. Your inner critic is something that knows exactly how to say and use logic to get you to focus on something else. Let me give you an example.

• 2:10Speaker 00

  I worked with a lot of CEOs that want to grow and evolve as leaders. And as they begin to let go of the old version themselves and redefine version 2.0, they undoubtedly have some fear. They have that inner critic that comes in that says, "Not now. I should focus on this later," or some other aspect of that. And it is a killer, if you don't know it. The big thing I want to highlight for you today is naming this inner critic, that's this voice inside your head that tries to get you to stop. That's first. Secondly, is just knowing that it's coming. It comes in every part of your life, not just work. It comes at home. It comes in in the things that you try to do. I do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu,

• 2:50Speaker 00

  and I've been doing this for 18 plus years. And I never would have done it if I listened to my fear of, you know, "I'm not good enough out there. I'm not athletic enough. I'm not strong enough. I don't know what I'm doing." I leaned in anyway, and I got better. And then over time, I got better and better and better. And so that has shown up in many parts of my life, and probably yours as well. So your inner critic is an asshole, but change requires you to address that inner critic and then keep moving forward. That's my piece today. Hopefully you got some insight around this. I'm an executive coach. I help CEOs that are ambitious, many of them on the Inc 5000. And I work with more Inc 5000 level companies than any other leadership development company out there. So I'm really proud of the work that you do.

• 3:35Speaker 00

  If we can help you in any way, make sure you reach out to me, [email protected]. That's my email. And when you think of growth, when you think of leadership, think of growth, think growth. As always, be the courage. We'll see you next time.

• 3:50Speaker 01

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