Don’t Let Your Inner Critic Control You - Quiet Your Inner Critic When I tried slowing down and focusing on just one or two important tasks, my inner critic would pipe up. “Only one or two things? You’ve got so much more to do!” That voice of guilt would send me straight back to over-planning and overwhelm. It’s a vicious cycle: the more stressed you get, the less you accomplish; the less you accomplish, the more stressed you get It’s like a hamster wheel of anxiety.