How To Turn 'Negative Self-Talk' Into Your Superpower

What feels like self-sabotage may actually be a hidden psychological tool. Here's how to harness it instead of fighting it.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D. | November 18, 2025

Have you ever noticed a voice in your head that seems to comment on everything you do? Sometimes it cheers you on; other times, it reminds you of every mistake you've ever made. This latter is negative self-talk, while the former is positive. We all are constantly talking to ourselves in some way and following a narrative shaped by what we have learned from the experiences and world around us.

This inner voice is built over years of experiences and feedback you absorb from others. The way you were spoken to as a child, how you were praised or criticized and the standards you learned to hold yourself to all quietly shape the tone of your self-talk today. In some cases, it becomes your supportive coach; but in others, it serves as a relentless critic.

A 2021 study published in Scientific Reports explored how the way we talk to ourselves, either positively or negatively, impacts brain function and cognitive performance. Researchers used fMRI brain scans and a problem-solving test to compare two types of self-talk. One is self-respect, which is positive self-talk, and self-criticism, which is negative self-talk.

The findings from the study were two-fold:

• Self-criticism was found to have a positive impact and lead to better performance on the second round of the test. This happened possibly because it created a state of heightened attention and internal motivation. People became more alert and focused after criticizing themselves.
• Self-respect was linked to changes in brain connectivity that improved executive functions such as planning, reasoning and decision-making. However, it also gave rise to a degree of false confidence. People felt more capable than they actually performed.

Ample research lends support to positive self-talk as a reliable booster for confidence and engagement. But when the balance tips too far, it can sometimes make people overconfident. This overconfidence may lead you to overlook mistakes, underestimate challenges or ignore feedback you actually need to grow. In other words, too much self-assurance can inadvertently shut down your self-awareness.

Negative self-talk, surprisingly, can sharpen focus and drive. However, it's only beneficial when it leads to self-correction, rather than self-blame. The key distinction lies in whether you use your inner critique to act and learn, or whether you only use it to punish yourself.

The study suggests that both types of self-talk have their own part to play; neither inherently good nor bad. You need self-respect to believe in yourself and enough self-criticism to stay grounded and motivated. Growth, in that sense, depends on learning to let both cooperate rather than compete.

Understanding Your Negative Self-Talk

A deeper question comes to the surface with that understanding. If some amount of self-criticism can be useful, how do you know when it's helping you grow versus holding you back? After all, not all negative self-talk is constructive. But in many cases, the inner critic can become a constant background noise of judgment that drains motivation and self-worth.

A recent 2025 study published in BMC Psychology looked at how people successfully cope with the harsh internal voice that points out their flaws or mistakes. Researchers wanted to understand what strategies actually helped people manage their self-critical thoughts in a healthy and adaptive way. They interviewed individuals who had scored high on measures of coping ability and analyzed their experiences in depth.

Based on the results, we get to see a much deeper look at the negative self-talk and how best to deal with it. But most importantly, each person is likely to have a "type" of inner critics. These types include:

• The Worrier, who fears failure
• The Non-Feeler, who avoids emotions
• The Not Good Enough for Others, who seeks external validation
• The Hated self, the harshest inner critic of all

Each of these self-critics is triggered by different situations, and each comes with specific emotions and thought patterns.

People who coped well weren't those who silenced their inner critic. Instead, they were the ones who learned to respond to their self-talk with self-compassion and self-protection. In other words, they acknowledged their inner critic without letting it define who they were.

This suggests that our goal should be to redefine our relationship with our inner critic. When you learn to meet your internal voice with understanding instead of resistance, it begins to lose its power to hurt you. Over time, the same voice that once held you back can become the one that helps you grow.

Using Your Negative Self-Talk As An Inner Guide

When there is a constant negative chatter dominating your mind, it can feel like you're living with an invisible bully. While a certain level of self-criticism can sharpen focus and push you toward growth, its more extreme forms can slowly but very surely sabotage your potential.

Say, for instance, the voice in your head keeps repeating, "You don't deserve healthy love," or "This is too good to be true." There's a good chance this will lead you to indulge in self-sabotaging behavior, but often without your realization of where the self-destructive behaviors are actually taking root.

Another example could be in the case of career or ambitions. A voice that's too critical here can make you overanalyze every move until you're too afraid to take one at all. That's when negative self-talk stops being helpful and becomes a barrier between who you are and what you're capable of becoming.

The first step to changing this is by practicing self-awareness. Start paying attention to the background murmurs of your mind. The patterns and phrases that repeat themselves are what amount to the average conversation that guides you from within.

One helpful way to do this would be journaling your self-limiting beliefs, or even verbalizing the negative stories you tell yourself in an area you currently struggle with. This can help you see these beliefs for what they are: learned narratives, rather than absolute truths. Once you can make this distinction, you can begin to reframe these beliefs.

Rather than solely focusing on silencing your inner critic (which is often what many people resort to when trying to enact change) try engaging with it instead. Dive deeper, if you can, to find what the inner critic might be trying to protect you from. In many cases, beneath criticism lie certain fears — maybe of failure, rejection or loss. More than anything, it is imperative that you build self-compassion as you learn about yourself this way.

When you respond to your inner dialogue with shame or harshness, it only shuts down the possibility for growth. This can easily keep you stuck in defense mode and reinforce the very patterns you want to change. However, that very self-talk can benefit you if you can start to use its cues productively to take action, or to remove inner blocks and guide yourself toward genuine progress.

At the end of the day, remember that your mind is working for you and not against you. Even when it alarms you with unnecessary fears or irrational worries, it is only trying to keep you safe based on old experiences or beliefs. When you learn to listen without judgment and respond with compassion, you begin transforming that fearful inner voice into one of guidance. In turn, you can make it an ally on your path of growth, rather than something that stands in the way of it.

Do you engage in more negative self-talk than you do positive? Take this science-backed test to find out: Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire

A similar version of this article can also be found on Forbes.com, here.