Channel Your Inner Arnold Schwarzenegger
We all have pesky little voices in our heads that love to critique, question, and sometimes even belittle us. They tell us we’re not intelligent, talented, or attractive enough. If we don’t learn to quiet those voices, they can keep us from pursuing our dreams.
Luckily, there are steps you can take to quiet your inner critic. Many successful people have learned to do so. Arnold Schwarzenegger, despite all of his personal faults, serves as a great example of mastering his mindset, which allowed him to go after his dreams.
Netflix’s recently released three-part documentary Arnold is a captivating portrayal of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s life. Born in Austria, he moved to the United States to chase big dreams.
Watching the documentary, I was struck by Schwarzenegger’s unwavering focus on his goals. He did not let negative thoughts deter him from his goals, whether becoming the world’s best bodybuilder, a Hollywood movie star, or the Governor of California.
“I wanted to be a film star, but everyone told me it couldn’t be done. They said I had a huge, monstrous body that was too developed, and I had a strange accent that didn’t fit into the movies,” Schwarzenegger said in an interview.
I invite you to imagine: You have no acting training, barely speak English, and your overly muscular body looks a bit freakish to many. And you decide you want to become a major movie star. Completely crazy, right?
That is where Schwarzenegger found himself in the 70s. Many would have said his dreams were unrealistic. In fact, many told him so.
If you and I were in this situation, our inner voices might have stopped us from pursuing those dreams. They would have constantly nagged us, saying things like “You are not good enough”, “You don’t have enough training, or “You are out of your league.”
But not Schwarzenegger.
“The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger
Like Schwarzenegger, I grew up in Austria and moved to the United States to live a bigger life. But unlike Schwarzenegger, I haven’t always been as confident in achieving my goals. I had to work on my mindset to quiet the critical inner voices in my head.
So let me give you an insight look into those pesky voices and share with you three steps to quiet them so you can follow your dreams, just like Schwarzenegger did.
How to quiet the pesky voices in our heads
We all have little voices in our heads, don’t we? The ones that love to critique, question, and sometimes even belittle us. They are like uninvited guests lingering in our minds.
Our inner critics can be downright nasty to us. They tell us we’re not intelligent, talented, or attractive enough. And even if, deep down, we don’t believe that’s true, the inner critics can be hard to ignore.
In research, the inner critic is defined as a “well-integrated system of critical and negative thoughts and attitudes of the self that interferes with the individual’s organismic experiencing process.” In other words, the criticism we hear in our minds gets in the way of enjoying life.
So how do we quiet these voices? How do we channel our inner Schwarzenegger and push past the negativity to pursue our dreams and thrive?
Here are three steps you can take to quiet those negative thoughts:
Step 1: Recognize and Acknowledge
First, recognize that you have a critical inner voice. Acknowledge its presence. When you hear it, please don’t push it away or ignore it. Instead, say to it, “I hear you, but I choose not to listen.”
You could even give your inner voice a name. Lucifer? The Nag? The Gremlin? Any time you think something negative, tell that name to go away.
Research on naming emotion shows that when you name what you are feeling, there is decreased activity in the parts of the brain in charge of emotion. When you label what’s happening, you feel more in control, and it helps calm your mind.
When you name your critic, it loses some of its power over you because you acknowledge that you are not the problem. The real problem is believing everything the critic is telling you.
Step 2: Challenge Your Inner Critic
Once you’ve acknowledged your inner critic, it’s time to challenge it. If it tells you, “You’re not good enough,” counter with, “I am good enough just as I am.” If it says, “You’ll never succeed,” respond with, “I will keep trying until I do.”
Imagine your friends sticking up for you and talking back to the critic. Ally with them, not with the pesty inner critic.
Reclaim your narrative and show yourself compassion. It is scientifically shown to help you accept uncomfortable feelings and feel more peaceful.
Step 3: Replace Negativity with Positivity
Finally, make a conscious effort to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Counter every negative thought that pops up with multiple positive thoughts.
Scientists have discovered it takes multiple positive experiences to offset one negative experience (some studies say three, some say five). It takes more than one because we have a negativity bias built in. While that bias helps us stay safe and not be eaten by lions, it can also make us overly risk-averse.
Focus on your strengths and capabilities rather than dwelling on your perceived weaknesses.
You won’t silence your inner critic overnight. But with persistence, you’ll find that the voice gets quieter, and your authentic inner voice — the one that believes in you and your dreams — gets louder.
“If I had listened to the naysayers, I would still be in the Austrian Alps yodeling,” Schwarzenegger says of the power of self-belief. “Trust yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks. Believe in yourself and your vision, and success will come. Never listen if someone says you can’t do something.”
So, I encourage you to channel your inner Schwarzenegger whenever your inner critics speak up. Keep pushing forward, thriving, and, most importantly, keep believing in yourself.
Don’t let a pesky inner critic stand in the way of your dreams.
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