This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Activia. All opinions are 100% mine.
This post brought to you by Activia. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Rachel Teodoro.

Just before I turned 30, I decided to start running. I hadn't spent any time working out before but I knew I needed to start forming some healthy habits. I had little eyes watching and I wanted to be healthy so that I could be around and active for a long time. I realized that walking was too slow. I didn't love running but I love efficiency and getting from point A to point B was much faster if I picked up the speed. I also loved the end result. The finish line after months of training and the check list of runs under my belt is satisfying, but no matter how many good runs I have it's always the bad ones that are at the forefront of my mind. The inner critic comes out and starts in on it's conversation that rolls through my mind. Running for me is just as much a mental activity as it is a physical activity.

I have to work to silence that inner critic and find that inner strength to push through. Activia created an Inner Voice Interview asking women to share some of their goals and questioned what was holding them back from accomplishing them. The answer 80% of the time was themselves. Let's be stronger than the inner critic, here are a few quick tips and tricks that might help you too regardless if you are running your first 5K or if you are taking on a new goal or project.

5 Ways to Silence Your Inner Critic

Set Small Goals

One of the best ways to see success in your accomplishments is to set small goals to track your progress. Those small successes can reset the inner critic and help you prove that you can be successful in the big things too.

Create a New Response

The inner critic can be loud but you're stronger than that voice. Have a new response to give even if it does sound like a toddler saying "so what!" or "yes I can!"

Know Your Why

Having an idea of why you are trying to reach your goal and having that perspective will help you keep pushing forward even when you don't want to.

Think Worse Case Scenario

When you take a second to think about the worst case scenario and the what if's, you can put your goal into perspective. Usually the worst thing you can think of happening really isn't that bad and you can stop focusing on it and move forward thinking about the end goal.

Treat Yourself Better

Most of us would never talk to our friends or even a stranger the way that we talk to ourselves. Once that inner critic starts, shut it down and change the dialogue. If your inner critic were a friend telling you how worthless they were, how would you respond?

Activia believes that when your mind and body are fully aligned then you can start pulling from the source of your greatest potential and I believe that too. You can use these 5 tips to help you silence your inner critic and find out just how strong you are!