Your inner narrator doesn’t have to sound like a sports commentator roasting you. Recast the voice.

The running commentary in your head picked up its tone somewhere, often from people who spoke to you that way when you were young enough to believe them. You did not choose that voice, but it has repeated long enough to sound like truth rather than a style. Tone is separable from content. The same observation can come from someone who wants you to do better or from someone enjoying the mess.

Catch one harsh line this week and say the same point in the voice of a person who likes you. Not softer on the facts. Different only in delivery.