Poor onboarding, engagement and customer service make up 52% of the reasons customers leave in the first 90 days.

Ever installed a new app or signed up for a new service? We’ve all done that before, and the first thing we need to know is HOW to navigate our way through the service and get the value. But when the initial experience is bumpy, new customers can start to disengage or even unsubscribe from the service, FREE or paid. This is why Customer Onboarding is very important so as to boost customer retention, increase customer satisfaction and reduce customer churn.

The First Few Days For Any New Customer Is Very Crucial

It always excites me when I receive a welcome email from the Founder/CEO of a company whose services I’ve signed up to. Many apps provide welcome emails to new users, but it can be adapted in any type of business, not apps alone.It is such an effective way to excite customers and provide next steps. That way, you start to lead customers through a seamless customer journey they will equally be excited to look forward to.

Start With A Welcome Email

Now that you’ve made your customers feel at home, it is time to get them familiar with your services. This is where introductions and inductions make a huge difference. Consider mini tours, scheduled email introductions and other forms of customer engagement to help them become familiar with your platform or services. Start with a high level overview, then find opportunities later for in-depth tutorials and guidance.

Mini-Inductions & Intro Sessions

Whether you’ve got an app, a software or a non-tech service, wizards and templates are a great way of speeding up setup. An accountant can use a budget template to help a new client create their initial budget. Apps can have presets that automatically configure systems and preferences for new users. Think of ways to speed up the initial setup with reusable wizards and templates so the customer’s setup tasks are fewer and faster.

Speed Up Setup With Wizards & Templates

Bombarding a new customer with all information on day 1 is a recipe for disaster. You will end up overwhelming them, they would forget most of what you said, and they will still contact you for support. A better way is to break up and pace out your content and deliver them to new customers using two types of triggers.<ol><li>User triggers - content released to a user when they take an action. Eg. Display an on-screen tip to a customer visiting a specific page for the first time</li><li>Time triggers - eg. Tutorial content sent to new users over the first 7 days of subscribing</li></ol>

Triggered Content

Customers can’t be bothered with reading pages of text especially when videos can relay the message easier and better. This is why instructional videos are more powerful than text-based user guides. Consider creating an archive of short videos and make them available to customers for reference. Eg. An accountant can create a short video clip showing a customer how to create a budget.

Video Is More Effective Than Pages Of Text

If all the previously mentioned activities are setup properly, you should find fewer customers needing your support during onboarding. That said, let customers know how to reach you for assistance as this gives them the additional confidence, knowing that help is not far away.

Reliable & Reachable Customer Suppprt

Many businesses struggle to keep up with customer enquiries, complaints, feedback and special requests. It is impossible to respond and resolve issues within specific timescales and urgency if you rely on emails only. This is why a CRM like <a href="https://mycentreoffice.com">MyCo</a> is great, for capturing customers, automating customer communication and setting up a Service Center to capture customer requests. It also has a 14 day free trial you may want to check out.

Use A CRM/Business Tool With A Service Center

And don’t assume it’s all working seamlessly once you launch your new customer onboarding process. Pay attention to customer behaviour, get customer feedback and continuously find ways to improve the process.

Don’t Forget To Collect Customer Feedback

Why is the customer onboarding process so important? Very simple - to attract, convert and retain more paying customers. It will help you increase your customer lifetime value (CLV) so you can keep delivering paid services to your customers consistently and get paid continuously. This is how businesses win and retain their deserved marketshare.

It’s All About The Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

All the things you need to better the most important part of your customer journey. 

business

Business

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

communication

Communication

Onboarding Matters

It is so easy to lose a customer just after they’ve subscribed or paid for your services.  When this happens, it is most likely due to a faulty Customer Onboarding process. Here is how to setup a seamless Customer Onboarding process that retains customers.

Customers can become frustrated and leave your services even in the first few moments and days of subscribing to your services. Many organisations have proved this including Business2Community…

A Seamless Customer Onboarding process that sells

The only thing that has really helped to bridge the virtual gap between employees and managers is communication. However, both over-communicating and under-communicating — the extreme ends of optimal communication — come with their downsides. If there’s poor communication from the manager, there’s a risk of a wide gap in meeting team goals, delays in project completion, and duplication of work. On the other hand, if a manager is over-communicating, they risk wasting time, demotivating their team, and micromanaging their direct reports to the point of burnout

Finding Balance In Your Communication Frequency

1-on-1 meetings are a great opportunity for managers to talk candidly with their direct reports. They are also opportunities for managers to grow as leaders of a remote team, to reflect on their own mentoring skills, their ability to give feedback and listen to constructive criticism. Some questions that managers can ask during these meetings:<ul><li>What’s on your mind this week?</li><li>Last time we spoke, you said X was a challenge for you. How is that going?</li><li>What are your plans and priorities for this week?</li><li>How aligned do you feel with where the company is going?</li><li>What feedback do you have for me?</li></ul>

Host Frequent 1:1 Meetings And Be Open To Feedback 

It’s really important for remote leaders to set rules around how, when, and which communication tools to use when working in virtual teams. When to use Slack? Which situations call for an email? Under what circumstances should an ad-hoc meeting be scheduled? Set up project collaboration tools to track project updates. If a project would benefit from creative and energetic exchange of ideas, then schedule a call for clarity. Complement video calls with traditional emails for company-wide communication.

Set Up Communication Guidelines

Micromanagement can be a costly management style that can lead to low employee morale, high staff turnover, reduction of productivity, and overall dissatisfaction. Avoid constantly asking for status updates as this can come across as having a lack of trust in the team to do their work, and that’s a slippery slope no manager wants to be on.Micromanagement can lead to impostor syndrome, and also lead to disappointment and lack of motivation for certain employees, so watch out for those common signals that managers may need to take a step back.

Make An Effort To Not Micromanage

<ul><li>Synchronous communication includes every form of communication that happens in real-time, and there’s an immediate response.</li><li>Asynchronous communication includes every form of communication that doesn’t happen in real-time, and responses can occur intermittently. Asynchronous communication is impactful for teams that work across time zones, as there’s no expectation of an immediate response.</li></ul>It’s down to the managers on how and what tools they want to implement with the team.

Asynchronous and Synchronous communication.

Discover how to strike the balance between over-communicating and under-communicating as the manager of a remote team. 

remotework

Remote Work

career

Career

4 Ways To Balance Under And Over-Communication As A Remote Work Manager

Executive presence is when a person projects that they know where they're going and that they're willing to take their listeners with them. 
It requires that you speak with confidence.

Executive presence

They are:
<ul>
<li>Your speech</li>
<li>Your body language</li>
<li>Your clarity of thought.</li>
</ul>

The three components of confidence

Speaking too fast can sabotage your executive presence.
A person could mistakenly think that you want the conversation to be over. However, you may really be nervous or try to prove that you are smarter than them.
But speaking at a nice pace can project that you are in the moment and actively listening.

Speaking too quickly

Filler words and sounds are sabotaging your ability to project commitment. It projects that you are unsure of yourself.Indicating that there's more to the information: When the tone of voice is always going up at the end of the sentence, it proposes that there's more information you want to get across. It makes it sound like you're unsure of yourself.

Inserting filler words, using the wrong tone

NYC Speech Coach Paul Geiger explores how to speak with the right authority.

Are you speaking with the right authority? With the right authenticity? NYC Speech Coach Paul Geiger offers tips on how to improve your "talk". Learn more - www.publicspeakingadvantage.com

videos

Videos

You need eyes and ears on the outside to show you the action steps that will lead to improvement. Stop repeating the same speaking mistakes! Get the FREE Confident Speaking Guide here: https://www.speechprep.net/free-guide

Public Speaking Advantage - Get yours!

Public Speaking Advantage

Speak With Executive Presence

Emotions can derail communication. When people get upset at one another, they stop thinking rationally.
Emotions are not an obstacle to successful negotiations. They are a means. Good negotiators know how to identify emotions and influence them.

Use emotions to influence

The quickest way to establish rapport is to repeat the last one to three words your counterpart just said. This will make them feel safe enough to reveal themselves. It will also slow the conversation down and give you more time to think.

Mirroring

Before you decide to get your point across, hear the other side out first.
Demonstrate that you are trying to understand their feelings using phrases like "It sounds like you're afraid of..." or "It looks like you're concerned about..."

Empathise strategically

Every yes is a concession or can feel like it. However, allowing the person opportunities to say no gives some form of control and put them at ease.

Guide them to say no

Summarise and reaffirm how your counterpart feels and what they want.
It should be done based on the feelings and passions driving them that they are blind to.

Trigger a "that's right" response

Don't try to force your opinion on your opponent.  In negotiations, the more the other person likes you, the more they are willing to be flexible. A win-win situation produces the best results.

Work together

From mirroring to encouraging them to say "no,” Chris Voss, founder and CEO of The Black Swan Group Ltd, shares his tried and true tips for negotiating. Get social with Inc. on: Facebook: http://on.inc.com/ilqUryJ Twitter: http://on.inc.com/8FGInRj LinkedIn: http://on.inc.com/gt7KsIn Instagram: http://on.inc.com/wLObvE2 Pinterest: http://on.inc.com/8lPoT0r

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

How do FBI negotiators navigate emotions during tough negotiations? Mirroring to encouraging them to say "no,” Chris Voss, founder and CEO of The Black Swan Group Ltd, shares his tried and true tips for negotiating.

About Inc.
Inc. Magazine delivers advice, tools, and services to help business owners, entrepreneurs and CEOs grow their businesses more successfully. You'll find information and advice covering virtually every business and management task including marketing, sales, finding capital, managing people, and much more.  Visit Inc.com for the latest!

Get social with Inc. on:
Facebook: http://on.inc.com/ilqUryJ
Twitter: http://on.inc.com/8FGInRj
LinkedIn: http://on.inc.com/gt7KsIn
Instagram: http://on.inc.com/wLObvE2
Pinterest: http://on.inc.com/8lPoT0r

Inc. Magazine delivers advice, tools, and services to help business owners and CEOs grow their businesses more successfully. You'll find information and advice covering virtually every business and management task including marketing, sales, finding capital, managing people, and much more.  Visit Inc.com for the latest!

Inc.

How FBI Negotiators Navigate Emotions During Tough Negotiations | Inc.

How to Navigate Emotions During Tough Negotiations, According to a Former FBI Negotiator | Inc.

Self awareness is how clearly we see ourselves and understand how others see us too.

What Is Self Awareness

What did I get frustrated by during the day?In what situations did I do my best work?

Ask The What Questions

Get feedback from "critics who care".

Spend Time With A Feedback Friend

Pay attention to your mistakes and learn from it.

Become A Mistake Monitor

And reframe your thinking traps into positive prompts.

Spot Your Thinking Traps

Answer this yourself.Ask for feedback on this.Compare how you see yourself vs how others see you. Is there a gap?

You At Your Best Vs You At Your Worst

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

problemsolving

Problem Solving

How to accelerate your self-awareness | Amazing If

Need help prepping for an argument, or just want to double check your philosophy homework? Here you'll find 15 of the most common logical fallacies.

15Logical Fallacies You Should Know Before Getting Into a Debate

Logical fallacies are flawed, deceptive, or false arguments that can be proven wrong with reasoning. These are the most common fallacies you should know about.Arguments and debates are an important part of college and academic discourse. But not every argument is perfect. Some can be picked apart because they have errors in reasoning and rhetoric. These are called "logical fallacies," and they're very common. You'll hear logical fallacies in the classroom, during televised debates, and in arguments with your friends. It can even be challenging to avoid using them yourself.

What Is A Logical Fallacy

Logical fallacies are flawed, deceptive, or false arguments that can be proven wrong with reasoning. There are two main types of fallacies: -A formal fallacy is an argument with a premise and conclusion that doesn't hold up to scrutiny.-An informal fallacy is an error in the form, content, or context of the argument.

Two Main Types Of Logical Fallacies

TABLE OF CONTENTS<ol><li>Ad Hominem</li><li>Strawman Argument</li><li>Appeal to Ignorance</li><li>False Dilemma</li><li>Slippery Slope Fallacy</li><li>Circular Argument</li><li>Hasty Generalization</li><li>Red Herring Fallacy</li><li>Appeal to Hypocrisy</li><li>Causal Fallacy</li><li>Fallacy of Sunk Costs</li><li>Appeal to Authority</li><li>Equivocation</li><li>Appeal to Pity</li><li>Bandwagon Fallacy</li></ol>

Types Of Logical Fallacy

An ad hominem fallacy uses personal attacks rather than logic. This fallacy occurs when someone rejects or criticizes another point of view based on the personal characteristics, ethnic background, physical appearance, or other non-relevant traits of the person who holds it. Ad hominem arguments are often used in politics, where they are often called "mudslinging." They are considered unethical because politicians can use them to manipulate voters' opinions against an opponent without addressing core issues.

Ad Hominem

A straw man argument attacks a different subject rather than the topic being discussed — often a more extreme version of the counter argument. The purpose of this misdirection is to make one's position look stronger than it actually is. The straw man argument is appropriately named after a harmless, lifeless scarecrow. Instead of contending with the actual argument, they attack the equivalent of a lifeless bundle of straw — an easily defeated puppet that the opponent was never arguing for in the first place.

Straw Man

An appeal to ignorance (also known as an "argument from ignorance") argues that a proposition must be true because it has not been proven false or there is no evidence against it. The argument can be used to bolster multiple contradictory conclusions at once, such as the following two claims: "No one has ever been able to prove that extraterrestrials exist, so they must not be real.""No one has ever been able to prove that extraterrestrials do not exist, so they must be real."An appeal to ignorance doesn't prove anything. Instead, it shifts the need for proof away from the person making a claim.

Appeal to Ignorance

A false dilemma or false dichotomy presents limited options — typically by focusing on two extremes — when in fact more possibilities exist. The phrase "America: Love it or leave it" is an example of a false dilemma. The false dilemma fallacy is a manipulative tool designed to polarize the audience, promoting one side and demonizing another. It's common in political discourse as a way of strong-arming the public into supporting controversial legislation or policies.

False Dilemma/False Dichotomy

A slippery slope argument assumes that a certain course of action will necessarily lead to a chain of future events. The slippery slope fallacy takes a benign premise or starting point and suggests that it will lead to unlikely or ridiculous outcomes with no supporting evidence. You may have used this fallacy on your parents as a teenager: "But you have to let me go to the party! If I don't go to the party, I'll be a loser with no friends. Next thing you know, I'll end up alone and jobless, living in your basement when I'm 30!"

Slippery Slope

Circular arguments occur when a person's argument repeats what they already assumed before without arriving at a new conclusion. For example, if someone says, "According to my brain, my brain is reliable," that's a circular argument. Circular arguments often use a claim as both a premise and a conclusion. This fallacy only appears to be an argument when in fact it's just restating one's assumptions.

Circular Argument

A hasty generalization is a claim based on a few examples rather than substantial proof. Arguments based on hasty generalizations often don't hold up due to a lack of supporting evidence: The claim might be true in one case, but that doesn't mean it's always true.Hasty generalizations are common in arguments because there's a wide range of what's acceptable for "sufficient" evidence.

Hasty Generalization

A red herring is an argument that uses confusion or distraction to shift attention away from a topic and toward a false conclusion. Red herrings usually contain an unimportant fact, idea, or event that has little relevance to the real issue. Red herrings are a common diversionary tactic when someone wants to shift the focus of an argument to something easier or safer to address. But red herrings can also be unintentional.

Red Herring

An appeal to hypocrisy — also known as the tu quoque fallacy — focuses on the hypocrisy of an opponent. The tu quoque fallacy deflects criticism away from oneself by accusing the other person of the same problem or something comparable. The tu quoque fallacy is an attempt to divert blame. The fallacy usually occurs when the arguer uses apparent hypocrisy to neutralize criticism and distract from the issue.

Appeal to Hypocrisy

Causal fallacies are informal fallacies that occur when an argument incorrectly concludes that a cause is related to an effect. Think of the causal fallacy as a parent category for other fallacies about unproven causes. One example is the false cause fallacy, which is when you draw a conclusion about what the cause was without enough evidence to do so. Another is the post hoc fallacy, which is when you mistake something for the cause because it came first — not because it actually caused the effect.

Causal Fallacy

A sunk cost fallacy is when someone continues doing something because of the effort they already put in it, regardless of whether the additional costs outweigh the potential benefits. "Sunk cost" is an economic term for any past expenses that can no longer be recovered. For example: Imagine that after watching the first six episodes of a TV show, you decide the show isn't for you. Those six episodes are your "sunk cost." A sunk cost fallacy would be deciding to finish watching anyway because you've already invested roughly six hours of your life in it.

Sunk Cost

Appeal to authority is the misuse of an authority's opinion to support an argument. While an authority's opinion can represent evidence and data, it becomes a fallacy if their expertise or authority is overstated, illegitimate, or irrelevant to the topic. For example, citing a foot doctor when trying to prove something related to psychiatry would be an appeal to authority fallacy.

Appeal to Authority

Equivocation happens when a word, phrase, or sentence is used deliberately to confuse, deceive, or mislead. In other words, saying one thing but meaning another. When it's poetic or comical, we call this a "play on words." But when it's done in a political speech, an ethics debate, or an economics report — and it's designed to make the audience think you're saying something you're not — that's when it becomes a fallacy.

Equivocation

An appeal to pity relies on provoking your emotions to win an argument rather than factual evidence. Appealing to pity attempts to pull on an audience's heartstrings, distract them, and support their point of view. Someone accused of a crime using a cane or walker to appear more feeble in front of a jury is one example of appeal to pity. The appearance of disability isn't an argument on the merits of the case, but it's intended to sway the jury's opinion anyway.

Appeal to Pity

The bandwagon fallacy assumes something is true (or right or good) because others agree with it. In other words, the fallacy argues that if everyone thinks a certain way, then you should, too. One problem with this kind of reasoning is that the broad acceptance of a claim or action doesn't mean that it's factually justified. People can be mistaken, confused, deceived, or even willfully irrational in their opinions, so using them to make an argument is flawed.

Bandwagon Fallacy

I hope this primer on logical fallacies helps you to navigate future disputes with friends, family, and online acquaintances without descending into vitriol or childish name-calling. Knowing your logical fallacies can also help when you're working on your next research paper. You may want to brush up on controversial research topics while you're at it, so you're even more prepared.

Final Word

Whether you have a paper to write about logical fallacies or don't want to accidentally include them in your next persuasive essay, we're highlighting the top logical fallacies you need to know.

philosophy

Philosophy

15 Logical Fallacies You Should Know Before Getting Into a Debate - TheBestSchools.org

There is nothing in Einstein’s theories of <a href="http://www.astronomytrek.com/black-holes-relativity-and-time-travel/">relativity </a>to rule out <a href="http://www.astronomytrek.com/interesting-facts-about-time-the-fourth-dimension-and-time-travel/">time travel </a>, although the very notion of <a href="http://www.astronomytrek.com/is-traveling-back-through-time-possible/">traveling to the past </a>violates one of the most fundamental premises of physics, that of causality. With the laws of cause and effect out the window, there naturally arises a number of inconsistencies associated with time travel, and listed here are some of those paradoxes which have given both scientist and <a href="http://www.astronomytrek.com/10-notable-time-travel-movies-of-the-21st-century/">time travel movie </a>buffs alike more than a few sleepless nights over the years. The <a href="http://www.astronomytrek.com/7-profound-questions-about-time/">time </a>travel paradoxes which follow fall into two broad categories:

Background 

1) Closed Causal Loops, such as the Predestination Paradox and the Bootstrap Paradox, which involve a self-existing time loop in which cause and effect run in a repeating circle, but is also internally consistent with the timeline’s history.2) Consistency Paradoxes, such as the Grandfather Paradox and other similar variants such as The Hitler paradox, and Polchinski’s Paradox, which generate a number of timeline inconsistencies related to the possibility of altering the past.

2 Categories Of Time Travel Paradoxes 

A <a href="http://www.astronomytrek.com/time-travel-the-predestination-paradox-explained/">Predestination Paradox </a>occurs when the actions of a person traveling back in time becomes part of past events, and may ultimately causes the event he is trying to prevent to take place.Imagine that your lover dies in a hit-and-run car accident, and you travel back in time to save her from her fate, only to find that on your way to the accident you are the one who accidentally runs her over. Your attempt to change the past has therefore resulted in a predestination paradox. Any attempts to stop something from happening in the past will simply lead to the cause itself.

1: Predestination Paradox

A <a href="http://www.astronomytrek.com/the-bootstrap-paradox-explained/">Bootstrap Paradox </a>is a type of paradox in which an object, person, or piece of information sent back in time results in an infinite loop where the object has no discernible origin, and exists without ever being created. A bootstrap paradox involving a person: a 20 year old male time traveler who goes back 21 years, meets a woman, has an affair, and returns home three months later without knowing the woman was pregnant. Her child grows up to be the 20 year old time traveler, who travels back 21 years through time, meets a woman, and so on.

2: Bootstrap/ Ontological Paradox

For example, if you traveled to the past and killed your grandfather, you would never have been born and would not have been able to travel to the past – a paradox. Let’s say you did decide to kill your grandfather because he created a dynasty that ruined the world. You figure if you knock him off before he meets your grandmother then the whole family line (including you) will vanish and the world will be a better place.

3: Grandfather Paradox

Similar to the Grandfather Paradox which paradoxically prevents your birth, the Killing Hitler paradox erases your reason for going back in time to kill him. Furthermore, while killing Grandpa might have a limited “butterfly effect”, killing Hitler would have wider consequences for everyone in the world, even just studying him in school. The paradox itself arises from the idea that if you were successful, then there would be no reason to time travel in the first place. If you killed Hitler then none of his actions would trickle down through history and cause you to want to make the attempt.

4: Let’s Kill Hitler Paradox

American theoretical physicist Joseph Polchinski proposed a time paradox scenario in which a billiard ball enters a wormhole, and emerges out the other end in the past just in time to collide with its younger version and stop it going into the wormhole in the first place.Solutions have been formulated to avoid the inconsistencies Polchinski suggested, essentially involving the billiard ball delivering a blow which changes its younger version’s course, but not enough to stop it entering the wormhole. This solution is related to the ‘timeline-protection hypothesis’

5: Polchinski’s Paradox

A self-fulfilling prophecy is only a causality loop when the prophecy is truly known to happen and events in the future cause effects in the past, otherwise the phenomenon is not so much a paradox as a case of cause and effect. Say, for instance, an authority figure states that something is inevitable, proper, and true, convincing everyone through persuasive style. People, completely convinced through rhetoric, begin to behave as if the prediction were already true, and consequently bring it about through their actions.

Are Self-fulfilling Prophecies Paradoxes?

The Butterfly Effect is a reference to Chaos Theory where seemingly trivial changes can have huge cascade reactions over long periods of time. Consequently, the Timeline corruption hypothesis states that time paradoxes are an unavoidable consequence of time travel, and even insignificant changes may be enough to alter history completely.

Are Time Paradoxes Inevitable?

In one story, a paleontologist, with the help of a time travel device, travels back to the Jurassic Period to get photographs of Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Ceratosaurus, and Allosaurus amongst other dinosaurs. He knows he can’t take samples so he just takes magnificent pictures from the fixed platform that is positioned precisely to not change anything about the environment. His assistant is about to pick a long blade of grass, but he stops him and explains how nothing must change because of their presence.

The Story of The Paleontologist 

They finish what they are doing and return to the present, but everything is gone. They reappear in a wild world with no humans, and no signs that they ever existed. They fall to the floor of their platform, the only man-made thing in the whole world, and lament “Why? We didn’t change anything!” And there on the heel of the scientist’s shoe is a crushed butterfly.

The Story Of The Paleontologist Cont.

Scientists have suggested ingenious ways to avoid time travel paradoxes, including–The Solution: time travel is impossible due to the very paradox it creates–Self-healing hypothesis: successfully altering events in the past will set off another set of events which will cause the present to remain the same–The Multiverse /“many-worlds” hypothesis: an alternate parallel universe or timeline is created each time an event is altered in the past–Erased timeline hypothesis : a person traveling to the past would exist in the new timeline, but have their own timeline erased

Solutions

I have always been interested in the concept of time and time travel, as it is always as mind boggling as it is simple, and this article I found useful to introduce paradoxes which arise as part of time travel.

Time paradoxes, whether to the past or future, are an inherent feature of time travel, exemplified by the grandfather paradox and the bootstrap paradox.

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

5 Bizarre Paradoxes Of Time Travel Explained

The critical inner voice is a well-integrated pattern of destructive thoughts toward ourselves and others. The nagging “voices,” or thoughts, that make up this internalized dialogue are at the root of much of our self-destructive and maladaptive behavior.The critical inner voice is not an auditory hallucination; it is experienced as thoughts within your head. This stream of destructive thoughts forms an anti-self that discourages individuals from acting in their best interest.

What is the Critical Inner Voice?

The critical inner voice is an internal enemy that can affect every aspect of our lives, including our self-esteem and confidence, our personal and intimate relationships, and our performance and accomplishments at school and work. These negative thoughts affect us by undermining our positive feelings about ourselves and others and fostering self-criticism, inwardness, distrust, self-denial, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161024002451/https://www.psychalive.org/addictions/">addictions</a> and a retreat from goal-directed activities.

How Does the Critical Inner Voice Affect Us?

Some common voices include thoughts like “You’re stupid,” “You’re not attractive,” or “You’re not like other people.”Some people have voices about their career, like “You’ll never be successful,” “No one appreciates how hard you work,” or “You are under too much pressure, you can’t handle this stress.”Many people experience voices about their relationship, such as “He doesn’t really care about you,” “You’re better off on your own,” or “Don’t be vulnerable, you’ll just get hurt.”

What Are Some Examples of Common Critical Inner Voices?

These inner voices usually come from early life experiences that are internalized and taken in as ways we think about ourselves. Often, many of these negative voices come from our parents or primary care takers, as children we pick up on the negative attitudes that parents not only have towards their children but also toward themselves. Our voices can also come from interactions with peers and siblings, or influential adults.

Where Do Critical Inner Voices Come From?

Many people think if they stop listening to their critical inner voice, they will lose touch with their conscience. However, the critical inner voice is not a trustworthy moral guide like a conscience. On the contrary, the critical inner voice is degrading and punishing and often leads us to make unhealthy decisions. These negative voices tend to increase our feelings of self-hatred without motivating us to change undesirable qualities or act in a constructive manner.

How is the Critical Inner Voice Different Than a Conscience?

In order to take power over this destructive thought process, you must first become conscious of what your inner voice is telling you so you can stop it from ruining your life. To identify this, it is helpful to pay attention to when you suddenly slip into a <a href="https://www.psychalive.org/bad-mood/">bad mood </a>or become upset, often these negative shifts in emotion are a result of a critical inner voice. Once you identify the thought process and pinpoint the negative actions it is advocating, you can take control over your inner voice by consciously deciding not to listen. Instead you can the actions that are in your best interest.

How Can I Conquer My Critical Inner Voice?

The critical inner voice is a pattern of destructive thoughts toward ourselves and others. This inner voice often leads to self-destructive and harmful behavior.

mentalhealth

Mental Health

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝙸𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚅𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍

Knowing that what you do cannot change who you are promotes freedom in how you want to live, freedom not just from others, but also from <a href="https://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-lowering-our-expectations-helps-us-do-what-we-really-want-to-do/">expectations </a>and doubt. Knowing you always have worth allows yourself to connect with the people around you more deeply, empathize with them, and support their journeys through life. It is with this knowledge you can find and share true joy.

Believe In Yourself To Believe Your Worth And Be Happy.

One has to look inside more to explore one's talent and skills.

Our worth isn't based on what we accomplish or what anyone else thinks of us, and we have nothing to prove to anyone.

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

habits

Habits

Why I Stopped Measuring My Self-Worth and Trying to Prove Myself - Tiny Buddha

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A Seamless Customer Onboarding process that sells

4 Ways To Balance Under And Over-Communication As A Remote Work Manager

Speak With Executive Presence

How to Navigate Emotions During Tough Negotiations, According to a Former FBI Negotiator | Inc.

How to accelerate your self-awareness | Amazing If

15 Logical Fallacies You Should Know Before Getting Into a Debate - TheBestSchools.org

5 Bizarre Paradoxes Of Time Travel Explained

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝙸𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚅𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍

Why I Stopped Measuring My Self-Worth and Trying to Prove Myself - Tiny Buddha

How to speak so that people want to listen | Julian Treasure

It's time to
Read like a Pro.

A Seamless Customer Onboarding process that sells

4 Ways To Balance Under And Over-Communication As A Remote Work Manager

Speak With Executive Presence

How to Navigate Emotions During Tough Negotiations, According to a Former FBI Negotiator | Inc.

How to accelerate your self-awareness | Amazing If

15 Logical Fallacies You Should Know Before Getting Into a Debate - TheBestSchools.org

5 Bizarre Paradoxes Of Time Travel Explained

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝙸𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚅𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍

Why I Stopped Measuring My Self-Worth and Trying to Prove Myself - Tiny Buddha

How to speak so that people want to listen | Julian Treasure

It's time to Read like a Pro.

It's time to
Read like a Pro.