Beating Yourself Up? The 10-Second Play That Outsmarts Your Inner Critic

Beating Yourself Up? The 10-Second Play That Outsmarts Your Inner Critic

From How To! with Charles Duhigg by How To!

June 11, 2026 · 18 min · Episode 392

About this episode

This episode features Amy Morin discussing strategies to outsmart your inner critic.

This week we're sharing a special episode from our friends at Mentally Stronger with Therapist Amy Morin — the Webby Award–winning podcast hosted by psychotherapist and mental strength trainer Amy Morin, whose TEDx talk has been viewed more than 25 million times and whose books have sold over a million copies in more than fifty languages. Every week, Amy shares a practical, research-backed mental strength strategy you can use right away. Think of it as a therapy session you don't have to book: all of the strategy, none of the small talk. Today we're sharing her episode on outsmarting your inner critic. Amy introduces the anxious voice in her own head that tries to keep her from taking risks, and walks through a simple three-step play — backed by research on self-distancing — for taking that voice's power away so it stops running your life. This play is one of the fifty tools in her brand-new book, The Mental Strength Playbook. For more strategies like this, follow Mentally Stronger on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And tell her Mike sent you.

People in this episode

Host: Mike Pesca

Guest: Amy Morin

Topics covered

  • mental strength
  • self-criticism
  • therapy strategies
  • self-distancing
  • personal development

Keywords

  • inner critic
  • mental strength
  • self-help
  • therapy
  • self-improvement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mentally Stronger

Products: The Mental Strength Playbook

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