I’ll never be on her level.

I’m not pretty enough.

It’s all been done.

I might look stupid.

I’m not thin enough.

I’m too young to do this.

I don’t have her background.

I’m too old for that.

I’m afraid they won’t like me.

I’M NOT GOOD ENOUGH (!!!)

Oh, hello, inner critic.

If you’ve been hanging out in the self-help personal growth space for any amount of time you may have heard of this concept. I’ve heard people call your inner critic the “drunk roommate” living inside your head—not helpful, constantly making a mess, demoralizing, annoying and even dangerous sometimes. Many refer to your wandering mind as your “monkey mind,” and that’s where this drunk roommate hangs out.

Whatever you want to call it—that voice that lives inside your head that reminds you all of the reasons you’re not good enough or can’t do something—you need to learn how to deal with it to be able to move forward in your business and life. You can’t let that crazy drunk roommate hijack your life, and you definitely shouldn’t be taking advice from her, either.

Here’s the thing: We all have an inner critic telling us that we are in some way, shape, or form not worthy of what we have or what we want. Everyone has it. EVERYONE.

The above statements are just a sampling of what goes through my head on a daily basis.

The good news is that you don’t have to learn how to get rid of your inner critic, you just need to learn how to deal with it.

Enter mediation. (Ugh! I know. So annoying.)

But most people have meditation wrong. Totally wrong.

Before I took the time to study yoga and meditation I used to think that meditating meant sitting in a calm room on a fancy pillow wearing flowy clothes and mala beads. “Focus, Liz. You need to do this right.”

Then….. the mind wanders…. “I need to write that email…… I’m so far behind on what I need to do. Oops, I forgot to schedule my hair appointment….”

“Oh, wait. I’m supposed to be meditating. You’re doing it wrong.”

“Wait again, now I’m doing the thing wrong that’s supposed to help me get over the feeling of doing everything else wrong?!”

#Failing on all levels.

Until you learn that meditation isn’t sitting in an expensive room on a fancy pillow levitating off of the ground. Don’t get me wrong–it can be like that and that actually sounds pretty nice! I’d love to do that. But day to day, the advice in this short video is a much better way to think about it.

In less than two minutes, Tibetan Buddhist master Mingyur Rinpoche teaches you that:

• You don’t have to get rid of your inner critic or monkey mind, you just have to learn how to not listen to it
• We cannot (and should not try to) block thought and emotion
• Breath meditation can be short (even seconds) and you’ll still reap massive benefits

Plus, he’s just extremely pleasant to listen to. I hope you like this video as much as I do, and big thanks to the HuffingtonPost for giving it to us.

What do you think? Share your takeaways in the comments below.