Inner Voice Response Experiment
Change your relationship to self-talk through weekly experiments
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 98%
The Inner Voice Response Experiment starts from Hudson's claim that directly trying to stop critical self-talk does not work. The more useful variable is the response to it. For one week, answer the voice in a deliberately chosen way: obey it, recognise that it is scared, sing its words, call it an ineffective boss, or acknowledge its positive intention while rejecting its method. Observe what each response does to motivation, safety, repetition, and behaviour, then use a different response the next week. The aim is not a perfect comeback but experiential learning about how the voice wants to be related to. Over time, the critic can be understood as caring but misguided, and repetitive negative self-talk may diminish.
Origin
Extracted from Modern Wisdom
Core principles
- 01Trying to suppress the inner voice does not work
- 02Response determines the relationship with the voice
- 03The critic often carries care through an incompetent strategy
- 04Experiment reveals what response changes the pattern
How to run it
- 1
Stop trying to stop it
Allow the critical voice to appear and notice its exact message. Shift the target from controlling the voice to choosing your response.
Watch out Shaming yourself for having an inner critic merely turns the criticism on itself.
- 2
Choose a weekly response
Select one response style to test consistently for a week, such as naming its fear or acknowledging its intention.
Pro tip Use playful responses such as singing the criticism to loosen automatic belief.
- 3
Respond in real time
Whenever the voice appears, use the week's response rather than automatically believing or fighting it.
- 4
Observe the relationship
Track how the response changes emotion, motivation, safety, and the critic's persistence.
Pro tip Look for care beneath the critic's incompetent strategy.
- 5
Run the next experiment
Change the response the following week and compare the effects. Keep what produces a more constructive relationship.
In the wild
Instead of obeying a harsh instruction, Hudson suggests responding to the inner voice by recognising that it is scared and offering presence. This changes the relationship from submission to caring attention.
→ The same critical message can produce a different emotional and behavioural result.
Common mistakes
Suppressing the voice
Trying to command the critic to stop keeps the work focused on control rather than relationship.
Believing good intent means good advice
The voice may want success while using a misguided, ineffective method.
Is it for you?
Best for
People whose harsh inner monologue is repetitive, motivating, or shame-producing.
Not ideal for
Acute psychiatric symptoms requiring assessment rather than a self-directed behavioural experiment.
From the transcript
“you can't just be like I'm G to stop that”
“what's important is how you react to it”
“this week I'm G to react to the voice in the head this way this week I'm G to react to the voice in the…”
From the episode
The Art Of Mastering Your Emotions - Joe Hudson - #813
Joe Hudson