Banish the Lies: Outsmart Your Inner Critic
Banish the Lies is a podcast for women who overthink, self-sabotage, and secretly feel stuck, even when life looks “together” on the outside.
Each week, host Tania Cervoni explores the quiet fears and false stories that shape how we see ourselves, lies like “you’ll never be enough” or “if it’s not perfect, it doesn’t count.” Through honest reflection, lived experience, and simple mindset shifts, she invites you to loosen your grip on fear, soften perfectionism, and step out of performance.
You’ll hear conversations about identity, self-trust, and what it actually looks like to live from truth instead of fear, with practical ways to quiet self-doubt and return to what matters.
Because healing doesn’t mean fixing who you are. It means remembering you were never broken.
Thanks for listening to Banish the Lies.
If something in this episode resonated and you want to talk about it, connect with me on Instagram at @taniacervoni_
Banish the Lies: Outsmart Your Inner Critic
15: I Almost Hid My Podcast at Work… and It Made Me See What I Was Protecting
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Ever find yourself holding back parts of who you are, especially at work?
In this episode, Tania reflects on a moment where she caught herself doing exactly that.
She unpacks what was really going on underneath that hesitation, and how easy it is to slip into managing how we’re perceived instead of just showing up as ourselves, especially in professional settings.
If you’ve ever struggled with being yourself at work, worried about how you’ll be judged, or felt like different versions of you show up depending on who you’re with, this one might feel familiar.
recently I found myself telling someone not to listen to my podcast right after telling them how much it means to me. And as you can probably imagine, there's a bit more to this story. Welcome to Banish the Lies, the podcast where we outsmart that sneaky inner critic and get closer to the truth that sets us free. I'm Tania Cervoni, your host and fellow work in Progress here to share real stories and small shifts that help you reclaim what fear and doubt once stole. Let's jump in. Have you ever found yourself hesitating to share something because you're trying to manage how you'll be seen? I had a moment like that the other day. I was at a work engagement. It was a full day meeting, and then about a dozen of us went out for dinner. I ended up sitting beside one of the senior executives that for the purposes of this episode, I will call him John. We were talking about work and at one point I asked him what he enjoys most about what he does, and he said something simple but really meaningful. He said he's driven to make a difference. He actually showed me this card that he had inside of his phone case that said exactly that, and. Well, I didn't necessarily anticipate he'd say that right away. I felt this connection to that same desire, and I was like, yeah, that matters to me too. So he asked me, what does it look like to make a difference for others? And I shared, you know, some of the safe stuff, my corporate work, facilitating programs, helping people have breakthroughs in communication and in their relationships, which, was all true. And then there was this other piece, the podcast, and I could feel my own hesitation that split second of, do I share this? Because this podcast is probably the most honest expression of me. It's where I talk about my inner critic and the lies we believe and all the messy parts. So I said it, I, I told him about the podcast and he immediately pulled out his phone and said, what's it called? And, well, I gave him the name of the podcast. I could immediately feel my heart rate pick up. And then I started saying the weirdest things, things like, well, my boss doesn't really know about it, and he's like nodding his head and saying, oh, should I not mention it? And I said something like, well, you know, it's just a bit strange to have your boss listen to your innermost thoughts and. While he continued to nod, you could see this sort of expression on his face. I'm not even sure what he was thinking. And then he followed up with, are you then asking me not to listen? And my weirdness continued, and I said something like, well, you know, maybe you'll wanna wait until after our next set of meetings at the end of the month. And even as I was saying it, I could hear how ridiculous it sounded, and the irony wasn't lost on me. Here I am. Talking about banishing the lies of the inner critic, and in real time I'm letting it tell me that it's safer to hide. And at that point I just stopped talking and started laughing. I was like, okay, this is total bs. Please go ahead and listen. But that moment really stayed with me. I kept thinking about it. Because this wasn't really about John. It was about how quickly I went to protecting an image. The polished put together corporate version of me, and I'm guessing that a lot of us do this. We carry around these different versions of ourselves depending on who we're with. We got the work version, the friend version, the family version, and I suppose to some degree that's completely normal, but I am also seeing that there's a cost because if your sense of being liked or accepted depends on showing up in a very curated way, then. You're never really gonna feel seen. It's the persona that ends up being seen and accepted, but not you. And over time that image management also gets pretty exhausting and honestly, in my experience anyway, a bit lonely. Only. I can actually recall a period in my life where I thought. I don't even know who I am anymore. I was so used to adjusting myself to fit the room and well, I've come a long way since then. Moments like this remind me, I am still working on it. Because at the end of the day, this isn't really about other people's opinions. Yes, we are wired as human beings for belonging. And of course we care what people think, but we also pay a price when we abandon ourselves to maintain that belonging. And here's the part that's kind of funny. People are gonna judge anyway. You can spend all this time trying to manage perception and it doesn't actually guarantee anything. So if judgment is part of the deal, either way, wouldn't you rather not exhaust yourself trying to control it? And maybe more importantly, wouldn't you rather be known for who you actually are? Not to mention, I think there's something powerful that happens when we show up a little more. Honestly, not total exposure or oversharing, but a bit more honestly, I believe it gives others permission to do the exact same thing. And that's pretty freeing. So if any of this is resonating for you, maybe the question isn't, how do I be fully authentic everywhere in my life? That might feel like a big leap. Maybe it's just where am I holding something back right now and what's that costing me? No judgment. It's just awareness and inside that awareness, we have a choice. And for me, I'm realizing that I'm tired of dividing myself into diversions, and I'm guessing that I'm not the only one. Thanks for listening to Banish The Lies. If today's episode resonated with you, take a moment to let it settle in. And maybe share it with a friend who could use it too. Lies, lose their power when we're brave enough to challenge them. I'm Tania Cervoni, and until next time, be kind to yourself. And remember, you're not broken, you're not alone, and you don't have to stay stuck.