You don’t silence the inner critic. You build courage around it.

Ever had a burning idea or project you keep coming back to?

The potential is staggering.
You can feel what it could become.
All you’ve got to do is put it out into the world — and everyone (including you) will finally see what you’re capable of.

But then… the inner critic shows up. Every. Single. Time.

I’m on the edge of launching something big — and I’m absolutely sh*tting myself.

Recorded at my dining room table (with the cats loudly having their tea), this episode is a pep talk for me and for you about what happens when your creativity is massive… and your confidence decides to wobble at the exact moment you need it most.

In this episode:

• The difference between “just another exciting idea” and the one that burns until you act
• Why your tribe matters (the people who let you run wild — then help you make it real)
• The naysayers, the cynics, the “you’re doing it for the money” noise — and how to stay steady anyway
• The truth about bravery: sometimes it’s just doing the thing with a loud mind
• One of my favourite lines: going against the grain will always give you splinters — so let’s learn how to keep going with splinters

If you’ve got something in your heart that you know could help people… but you’ve stalled right at the starting line — this one’s for you.

Hit follow/subscribe, and if this lands, send it to someone in your world who needs a push to press go.

About the host:
I am a mental health and wellbeing coach who supports adults with busy brains — including ADHD — to find calm, clarity, and self-trust.

Support beyond the podcast:
I offer a free, no-obligation 30-minute call.
You’ll find my contact details below:

https://www.goodtothinkdifferently.com/coaching
ben@goodtothinkdifferently.com

Transcript

Ben (00:01)
Okay, so I'm gonna start recording this one while I'm sat at my dining room table, the cats eating their tea rather noisily in the background. And I've just got a nugget of an idea I want to talk through.

So... having a busy brain?

I often get excited by ideas. I've had decades of being excited by world-changing ideas I've had that in reality don't have any practical application, any commercial substance, ⁓ and they should just remain in the past as ideas and nothing more.

But sometimes you're a busy brained individual like myself and you've got a big heart and you know that you've got the skills and the experience to put that good heart to great use where you really, really, really want to make a difference. And sometimes you might have an idea that is burning away at you, eating you up inside and you just have to get this out there. Now, when you speak to the right people,

those people who believe in you, those people who are your tribe effectively, those people who let you run wild with an idea.

When you have those ideas and you see the way they respond to your ideas, it gives you the ultimate self-belief that what you've got.

is a diamond. It might be a rough diamond, but you've got something. You see those people that are close to you that are thoroughly invested in what you've got to say. And then all you've got to do is get the thing out there.

When it comes to getting the thing out there, that's where we often lose our momentum. The naysayers, the negativity, the inner critic that has held us back for years is the thing that stops us from getting those ideas out there.

And I am so guilty of having not progressed with ideas of my own that have pitched them to people, ⁓ those people that believe in me and they've seen.

They've seen the potential of what those ideas can become.

and the positivity that those ideas can bring people.

Now, there's a project I'm going to be launching next week.

And it brings together the very best of who I am, what I do, my life experience.

and my burning desire to make a difference in communities.

More specifically in the community I'm part of where I live in Penarth.

This community is under my skin. This community has supported me through my own highs and lows. It was quite literally a lifeline for me a few years ago when I joined a walk and talk group and was one of the founding members. And that walk and talk group is still going to this day.

But this idea that I've been working on has become more than an idea.

It's become something that could quite literally change the lives of people in this town.

And yet, despite me being ready to press go on publishing the website and launching this.

that negative inner critic is always there.

The only way I can silence this inner critic

is by, I guess, using this podcast, this episode, and this next seven to 10 days.

as a bit of a guinea pig.

I will be launching a website next week, probably Wednesday or Thursday.

and it is something that I am putting my heart and soul into.

The negative inner critic is ever present in my head right now. But I need to put this out there, put myself out there, be vulnerable, be big, brave little Ben and do this. It's a very real example of how your busy brain can just turn in on itself.

I have something that will capture the imagination of this town.

and can make a huge difference in people's lives.

Why should I not?

Press go. Why should I not press publish on that website going live?

So between now and next week, I will be.

rallying a few local troops.

few people who believe in me.

to see if they can give my.

my ego, the fluffing that it needs to just put myself and my vision for this town.

out there, publicly.

There will be naysayers. There will be people that...

Criticize.

was I large.

There will be cynics. There will be people that are saying, I'm doing it for the money. I need to remember that they couldn't be further from the truth because

the very foundation of what I am launching next week.

is my own passionate attempt.

to create a town where nobody feels alone.

I very nearly communicated more about the project itself, but I'll have to hold off until next week.

So.

What is the point I'm making here?

I guess the point I'm making here is that a busy brain can be wildly creative, wildly innovative.

can bring.

a whole new perspective to the way we currently do things.

but going against the grain.

will always, ⁓ going against the grain will always give you splinters. So yeah, I just need to work through this splinter. ⁓

and not give in to the internal negative chatter.

So let's see how we get on.

This is Ben Cook, Something for the Busy Brain.

trying to silence the negative inner chatter.

and seeing what I can.

Create.

That is one of the. Crappiest endings to a podcast episode ever. So maybe I'll just keep talking until I come up with something more eloquent.

Maybe there'll be just a long pause, but I think it's, it's time for me to sign off now and go fight those, those brain demons and lean into the positivity that this project will create from next week and look forward to the tidal wave of, of good that it will bring.

Yeah, that'll do. That's a little bit better. Still a bit waffly, but hey, speak to you soon.