The Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance

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Exercises

Critic to coach

In your training journal, write a list of all the unhelpful things that your inner critic says inside your head. On a different page, make a list of things that you’d rather hear from a coach. Tear out the critic’s list and burn it. Review the coach’s list whenever the critic shows up.

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Dealing with the inner critic

The inner critic is a voice that sits in the back of your head and inhibits your impulses. In real life, this can be a good thing because it keeps you within the good graces of polite society. But when you play, the inner critic’s feedback isn’t nearly as helpful. It blocks your brain, locks your body, and offers up advice like, “That’s a stupid idea.”