15-minute guided grounding practice for the inner critic — in the hour before an interview

About this practice

When the inner critic shows up in the hour before an interview, this 15-minute grounding session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 15 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: the inner critic

The inner critic often formed as a protective strategy, keeping you small to keep you safe. It is loudest where you feel most exposed.

It tends to show up as:

• A judge commenting on everything
• Anticipating criticism before it comes
• Difficulty accepting praise

You can notice the voice without obeying it. Distance between the voice and the response is the whole gain.

Doing this before an interview

• Do it where you will not be interrupted, even if that is a stairwell
• Have the first sentence of your answer ready afterwards
• Keep it short — there is no time for a long session

Nerves before an interview are normal and not something to eliminate. You need access to what you know, nothing more.

How grounding works

Grounding brings attention to physical contact and the immediate environment. It works on the principle that the body cannot be somewhere else, so contact with the surface you are on is always available as an anchor.

• Feel the contact points — feet, seat, back — and let them take your weight
• Use the senses deliberately: what you can see, hear, touch
• Return to solidity whenever attention drifts

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Nothing needs to be decided in the next few minutes. Park the decisions.
2. 0:13Nothing here needs to be efficient.
3. 0:23Settle into the fact that for the next few minutes, nothing is required of you.
4. 0:37We'll start broad and narrow down. Nothing sudden is coming.
5. 0:49Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
6. 1:03Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
7. 1:14Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
8. 1:24Notice your heels making contact with the floor or the bed.
9. 1:36Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
10. 1:49Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
11. 2:01Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
12. 2:13This is not the last time the judge in your head will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
13. 2:32You do not have to win against the running commentary on your flaws. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
14. 2:50Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
15. 3:03Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the voice that grades everything is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
16. 3:22Feel the weight of the judge in your head somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
17. 3:39Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
18. 3:51Remain here for a few more breaths.
19. 4:01If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
20. 4:15Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
21. 4:28Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
22. 4:38Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
23. 4:51Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
24. 5:03No need to open your eyes yet.
25. 5:13Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
26. 5:27Feel the tops of your thighs.
27. 5:37Stay with it.
28. 5:45Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
29. 5:58Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
30. 6:08Nothing changes for a moment.
31. 6:17Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
32. 6:32Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
33. 6:44Take the next breath slowly.
34. 6:53I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
35. 7:05We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
36. 7:19Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
37. 7:31Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
38. 7:43If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
39. 7:56If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
40. 8:09Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
41. 8:20There's no need to try harder than this.
42. 8:31If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
43. 8:44A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
44. 8:55We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
45. 9:05Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
46. 9:17A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
47. 9:28You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
48. 9:41Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
49. 9:55A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
50. 10:06Small efforts are the whole method.
51. 10:16Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
52. 10:29Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
53. 10:43Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
54. 10:55Let the exhale carry a little of the running commentary on your flaws with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
55. 11:15Each time your mind hands you the voice that grades everything, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
56. 11:34Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
57. 11:49If the judge in your head shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
58. 12:09If you catch yourself fighting the running commentary on your flaws, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
59. 12:27Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
60. 12:39Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
61. 12:50Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
62. 13:04Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
63. 13:18I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
64. 13:31Let this be easy, if easy is available.
65. 13:42Just the breath, still.
66. 13:51Take one more breath at your own pace, then let your attention come back to the room.
67. 14:06Let your jaw, shoulders and hands be loose as you finish.
68. 14:18Let the quiet do its work.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.