066: How to Use Mindfulness to Quiet Your Inner Critic with Cindy Tsai
The Uncommon Couch
066: How to Use Mindfulness to Quiet Your Inner Critic with Cindy Tsai
Do you ever hear a voice in your head saying you aren’t good enough? Or that things won’t work out for you?
That voice is your inner critic, and unfortunately, many of us have struggled with this voice for a long time. These voices keep us stuck in a state of fear, and they prevent us from becoming our best selves. But when you learn to quiet your inner critic, you can break the cycle of negative thoughts and make big moves, even when they’re scary.
In this episode, I talked with Cindy Tsai, a board-certified physician turned mindfulness teacher and life coach about the complex relationship between us and our inner critics. Cindy shared her own story of rethinking her career path, how to practice mindfulness when your inner critic speaks up, and three steps to quieting that negative voice in your head.
What you’ll find in this episode:
How a life crisis can inspire you to rethink your path
Identifying your inner critic and understanding where it comes from
How your inner critic often keeps you from being your best self
The three steps to quieting your inner critic
How you can practice mindfulness in all areas of your life
Why it’s so hard to break out of negative thought cycles
Learning how to trust yourself and follow your own path
About Cindy
Cindy Tsai, MD is a board-certified physician, mindfulness teacher and integrative life coach who is passionate about coaching motivated high-performing women to quiet their inner critic to confidently live their best life. She earned her B.A. and M.S. degrees from Johns Hopkins University and her M.D. from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She completed internal medicine residency training at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC), a UCSF affiliate program.
Through Cindy’s own healing journey as a recovering perfectionist, she has explored a wide range of therapeutic modalities and emphasizes wellness and caring for the person as a whole. She recently left her primary care practice to pursue entrepreneurship and integrative medicine. Her mission is to empower women to look within to reconnect with their gifts and make an impact in the world.
Links from the Episode
Connect with Cindy on LinkedIn
Quotes:
“I just couldn't ignore that nagging feeling inside that I was here to do more. You know, that I could help in other ways that really felt good to me, too.” - Cindy
“Coaching helped me feel seen, heard and understood in a way that I hadn't experienced before. And I think it's about just having that safe space, and also because it was very much future focused and action oriented.” - Cindy
“Mindfulness was helpful because it allowed me to learn how to pay attention on purpose, to be open and accepting of what is because a lot of times what we resist actually persists.” - Cindy