It’s that negative, judgmental voice telling you you’re not smart enough or you don’t work hard enough or you don’t deserve to succeed.

We all have a constantly running soundtrack of self-talk in our head.

It’s stronger in some than in others, and the content is variable, too. A lot of it is harmless, even helpful–“Don’t forget, you’re meeting with John”–but if your inner voice ever takes a negative turn, you need to know how to tame it.”

Pushing Employees to Go the Extra Mile Can Be Counterproductive by Kai Chi Yam, Anthony C. Klotz, Wei He, and Scott Reynolds

“Some people are intrinsically motivated to exceed their job descriptions in order to support organizational goals. These self-starters need no external cues to help a co-worker learn a new skill; offer suggestions for process improvement; recruit a new employee; or volunteer for an assignment. Most, however, require some external motivation to go above and beyond their jobs, which often falls under the category of “soft coercion” — pressure that is conveyed in a manager’s tone with employees, and in the cultural influences and incentives that he or she uses to promote positive discretionary behaviors at work. The result of such soft coercion — initially, at least — is often what is intended: good organizational citizenship. But can pushing too hard to create “good soldiers” lead to unintended consequences?”