You know how sometimes you get these unhelpful thoughts stuck in your head? Like, you’re trying to work on a project, but your mind keeps going, “You’re not good enough for this. You’re going to mess it all up.” Or you’re about to give a presentation, and that nagging voice whispers, “Everyone’s gonna think you’re an idiot.” Yeah, that inner critic can be a real jerk.

The concept of Positive Intelligence

Well, that’s where the concept of Positive Intelligence comes in. It’s this idea from the work of Shirzad Chamine that we all have these two sides to our mind – the positive side that’s creative, resilient, and motivated, and the negative side that’s judgmental, scared, and always freaking out over nothing.

Now, in a coaching session, the goal is to help you strengthen that positive mental muscle so you can shut down the negative noise when it’s not serving you. It’s like giving your inner critic a time-out while you let the awesome, capable part of you take the wheel.

How it works

Here’s how it might go down: You share what’s been weighing on you lately, and your coach is like, “Okay, I hear that your inner critic is really giving you a hard time about X, Y, and Z.” They’ll ask you to get specific about the unhelpful thoughts you’ve been having, because once you shine a light on that nonsense, it loses some of its power.

From there, your coach will guide you through some Positive Intelligence techniques to shift your mindset. Maybe you’ll do some deep breathing exercises to center yourself. Or your coach will have you imagine how your best friend would respond to that negative self-talk, calling out the BS for what it is. The idea is to interrupt those stuck patterns of thinking and open you up to more constructive perspectives.

Confidence, Creativity, Resilience

As you start recognizing and defusing your inner critic, you make space for the good stuff – the confidence, creativity, and resilience that’s been there all along, just getting drowned out by your own worst enemy (your mind). With your coach’s support, you learn to handle obstacles in a more productive way instead of spiraling into self-doubt and catastrophic thinking.

Take back control of your mindset from your inner critic

Bottom line: Positive Intelligence is all about taking back control of your mindset and not letting your inner critic run the show. In a coaching session, you get to practice flexing that positivity muscle with someone in your corner. You start seeing limiting beliefs for what they are – fear-mongering static that’s holding you back from being your best self.

Instead of wasting energy on unfounded anxieties, you channel that mental power towards feeling motivated, curious, and engaged with whatever challenge you’re facing. Your coach is there to remind you that you’re resilient, you’re capable, and you’ve got this. With consistent training, that positive mindset becomes second nature, quieting the negativity and helping you operate from a place of strength.

Conclusion

So if you find yourself caught in cycles of self-doubt and worst-case scenario thinking, don’t be too hard on yourself. We all get pulled into that negative brain fog sometimes. But with Positive Intelligence strategies and the support of a great coach, you can learn to clear out that static and make room for the grounded, optimistic mindset that’ll help you tackle anything. Give it a try, and see what showing that inner critic who’s boss can do for your mindset and your goals!