Standing by the side of the pool in my Speedo swimsuit and special water aerobics shoes, I looked out at the 22 men and women ready for class. As the music started, so did the chatter in my head.

With 22 eager pairs of eyes on me, my mind was racing: “Does this make my butt look big?” “Why are my arms like jello?” “When will this baby fat disappear?”

After years of teaching water aerobics, I realized something crucial: no one cares about my perceived flaws except me. No one was focused on my body as much as I was. Everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts: “Will my new knee hold up?” “Am I keeping up with the music?” “Why can’t that woman stay in her lane?”

Too often, I stress about what others think, forgetting that most people are focused on themselves. I hesitated to teach because I hadn’t lost the baby weight from my third pregnancy and feared being judged. When I shifted my focus to the participants and their experience, everyone, including me, had a much better time.

The negative voice in your head is relentless, always aiming to make you feel bad about yourself. No one deserves to feel that way. One of the best strategies to silence that negative voice is to shift your focus outward. As Marie Forleo puts it, move from the spotlight to the flashlight. Instead of worrying about how I looked in my swimsuit, I concentrated on the benefits of working out in the water.

By changing your inner dialogue and reframing that negative self-talk into something positive and supportive, you’ll feel better and enjoy life more. The first critical step is awareness. Once you recognize the negative voice, you can begin to shift it toward positivity and support. The next step is taking action to change your energy flow, which can immediately boost your mood and outlook.

Awareness is key. Once you recognize your negative voice, you can take steps to counteract it.

What’s one step you will take today to manage the negative voice in your head?