Communicate Better with Everyone (HBR Working Parents Series)

16

Make Peace with Your Inner Critic

An Interview with Tara Mohr by Sarah Green Carmichael

Quick Takes

• Consider whether desire for praise is keeping you from taking risks
• Understand the difference between your inner critic and realistic thinking
• Notice and name your inner critic
• Allow your inner critic to be present but not run the show
• Avoid arguing with someone else’s inner critic

We spoke with Tara Mohr, author of Playing Big, about how to deal with self-doubt (or help someone else manage theirs).

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: You argue in your book that too many of us are playing small when we actually have the capacity to do bigger things. Is it just fear that holds us back? What’s really getting in our way?

TARA MOHR: Fear is absolutely at ...