SHIFT 50 | Your Inner Critic Isn't the Enemy—It's Guarding an Unmet Need You Can Finally Meet

Your inner critic isn't trying to hurt you. It's trying to protect the part of you that once had to go quiet to get a need met.

In this episode, Mandi Lynne explains that underneath the way your self-perception formed are unmet needs — and that the "me in meaning" is what you made that unmet need mean about you. She introduces parts work, the idea that when something hard happens we divide the self, and breaks down why the inner critic, the imposter, and the too-sensitive part are often protectors.

Using examples like the need for security behind a money wound and the need for belonging behind a longing for love, Mandi shows how a need gets fused with a negative self-belief — and how to begin meeting that need yourself, in a safe way, right now.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What the "me in meaning" is, and how an unmet need writes the plot line of your self-belief
• What your inner critic is actually trying to protect
• Why it's hard to chase your dreams while basic needs go unmet, and why that isn't a personal failing
• How to use "When I get X, then I will feel Y" to find the need underneath what you're chasing

Before you go, sit with this: what things do I keep doing, fearing, or believing that I know are not helping me? What belief about me is underneath that behavior? And what unmet need might that belief be trying to seek?

Begin your first shift at mandilynne.com 

Join the free 16-week School of Self now.

To learn more about IFS therapy modality, learn more at https://ifs-institute.com/ or by exploring the resources of one of our favorite experts supporting ONE | Life, Dr. Frank Anderson for a deeper dive.