This is when being self-critical can be a good thing

Are you your own worst enemy? It’s natural to be critical of yourself and others, but if you’re looking to come up with your next great idea, you can’t cut any ideation off in the moment. Instead of dismissing thoughts, get to the root causes of your resistance by learning how to interrogate yourself, say Kim Christfort and Suzanne Vickberg, coauthors of The Breakthrough Manifesto: 10 Principles to Spark Transformative Innovation.

“Our brains have all kinds of cognitive biases,” Vickberg says. “The point of interrogating yourself is to recognize that there’s a lot of stuff happening in your mind automatically. You can start asking yourself a lot of questions to get a little clearer about where these thoughts are coming from and what they are based in. It’s the principle of silencing your cynic.”

Get to the Root Cause

Interrogating yourself is particularly powerful when you do it in the moment, the authors explain. If you think, I can’t possibly do that, take it as your aha moment—a time to go inward. When you find yourself shutting down an idea, break down your resistance to determine where your issue lies.

“Ask yourself, Why am I feeling this way? Why am I reacting like this?” says Christfort, the chief innovation leader and national managing director for Deloitte Greenhouse, an executive breakthrough experience program. “Is it because there’s an issue with the idea itself? Does the idea feel way too bold? Or is it the opposite? Is it that we’ve done this a million times, and this isn’t new at all?”

Your issue may also be with your colleagues. You may be thinking that the team has never been successful, Christfort says, noting that if your thoughts are leaning toward things like “They’ve tried a bunch of projects before, and they never do a good job, your issue’s with the team, versus the idea itself.”

You may be resisting the challenge. Perhaps you feel like you have too many constraints or not enough support. “[You may be thinking] I’m cynical because my boss has told me that they want us to do this, but they’re not going to give us the people or funding,” says Christfort. “Or, Our organization is always running after the next squirrel, the shiny new object.”

Finally, interrogate yourself to see if you have imposter syndrome. Christfort suggests asking yourself questions like “Do I feel like I don’t know what I’m really doing here? Do I have enough experience?” Perhaps you’re thinking “I’m an expert in this, and my hesitation is I’m getting beyond my expertise,” she adds.

Your resistance may also have a personal challenge, points out Vickberg, a PhD and chief researcher and social psychologist for Deloitte Greenhouse. She suggests asking yourself, “Do I not like someone else’s idea because there’s a power dynamic?” She says that may lead to thoughts like If they’re right, that makes me wrong, and now I’m going to look bad. “This is really about self-reflection,” Vickberg says. “Where are my intentions? And am I willing to recognize that and decide that?”

It’s also possible that you have assumptions you’re not aware of. “There are orthodoxies and beliefs that may no longer be true,” Christfort says. “This process is helpful in revealing how to channel that in a constructive way. What we’re really trying to avoid here is this sort of toxic cynicism, where you can’t even get an idea off the ground because it gets shut down so quickly.”

Silence Your Cynic

When you interrogate yourself, you remove yourself from autopilot, Christfort says. “Sometimes we actively process things without realizing what is factoring into those decisions and attitudes,” she says. “Putting yourself into a more analytical evaluative state helps you be more thoughtful about the choices you’re making and the behaviors you’re doing.”

Being more open also allows you to improve your leadership skills by being better able to support the group in its objectives, bringing in greater diversity, and trying new things to be bolder with your contributions. It also helps take you down a more productive path, because when you interrogate first, you operate with more information.

“It lets you know how to stay in a discussion versus staying in the status quo,” Christfort says.

The authors point out that skepticism isn’t all bad. Healthy skepticism allows you to question things and wonder if they’re really true. Toxic cynicism, however, is a pervasive negative view of people and ideas.

“Maybe there is a legitimate constraint in this system that you’ve identified,” Christfort suggests. “Interrogating yourself helps you make sure that that is honored, but not in a disruptive way; you’re still able to come up with a solution.”

The bottom line, Vickberg notes, is don’t believe everything you think. “When you interrogate yourself, you’re stopping and saying, ‘Okay, I’m having a thought. But just because I’ve had that thought doesn’t mean that it’s true,’” she says. “It’s taking a step back and saying, ‘Let me explore what’s underneath the thought.’”