--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you gave your inner genius as much…" description: "\"If you gave your inner genius as much credence as your inner critic, you would be light years ahead of where you now stand.\" — Alan Cohen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/alan-cohen-1112_creativity_if-you-gave-your-inner-genius-as-much-cr_2916866.png" --- # If you gave your inner genius as much credence as your… ![“If you gave your inner genius as much credence as your inner critic, you would be light years ahead of where you now stand.” quote by Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/alan-cohen-1112_creativity_if-you-gave-your-inner-genius-as-much-cr_2916866.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/alan-cohen-1112_creativity_if-you-gave-your-inner-genius-as-much-cr_2916866.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/alan-cohen-1112_creativity_if-you-gave-your-inner-genius-as-much-cr_2916866.png) > “If you gave your inner genius as much credence as your inner critic, you would be light years ahead of where you now stand.” [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Equating the influence of inner genius with inner critic suggests that self‑belief accelerates personal growth. **In simple terms:** Believe in your inner genius more than your inner critic. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑confidence to advance. Themes self‑esteem growth mindset Mood motivational reflective Type psychological self‑help When to use this quote - career development - creative projects - personal coaching Key Concepts inner dialogue potential psychology Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to silence the inner critic? - How does self‑belief affect goal achievement? A Different Perspective Self‑doubt can still dominate despite positive belief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Credence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credence/) [Credence Inner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credence-inner-4230174/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Genius Credence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius-credence-4230173/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inner Critic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-critic/) [Inner Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-genius-655591/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-years/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“Your beliefs have the power to unlock your inner genius or keep you from fully achieving your greatest potential.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-day/your-beliefs-have-the-power-to-unlock-your-inner-genius-or-keep-you/) [Deborah Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-day/) > [ “We want to assist \[students\] in finding their inner genius and support them in guiding it into pathways that can lead to personal fulfillment… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-armstrong/we-want-to-assist-students-in-finding-their-inner-genius-and-support/) [Thomas Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-armstrong/) > [There's a gap somehow between empathy and activism. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of 'soul force' - something that emanates from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-a-gap-somehow-between-empathy-and-activism-rev-dr-martin/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“In the canvas of the coming year, paint not just with colors of knowledge, but with the bold strokes of your inner genius, crafting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-tracey-bond/in-the-canvas-of-the-coming-year-paint-not-just-with-colors-of/) [Dr. Tracey Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-tracey-bond/) > [“So stretch! Reach for it. Like falling down stairs, where your inner-genius takes over and saves you — your instincts are ready to serve you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/so-stretch-reach-for-it-like-falling-down-stairs-where-your-inner/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“To actively create works is your inner genius reason six days a week...to find completion and rest in your creations on the seventh day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-tracey-bond/to-actively-create-works-is-your-inner-genius-reason-six-days-a-week/) [Dr. Tracey Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-tracey-bond/) > [People become discouraged when they listen to their 'inner critic'... Whatever that voice is saying, articulate a response, drawing from the part of you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-mackler/people-become-discouraged-when-they-listen-to-their-inner-critic/) [Lauren Mackler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-mackler/) > [“The problem is that the inner critic is actually an indispensable element of any writer’s working life; it is the immune system, the necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-costa-viglucci/the-problem-is-that-the-inner-critic-is-actually-an-indispensable/) [Patricia Costa Viglucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-costa-viglucci/) > [“Many people spend their whole lives doing their best to follow the coaching, guidance, and warnings of the inner critic. Society supports this. However,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-brown/many-people-spend-their-whole-lives-doing-their-best-to-follow-the/) [Byron Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-brown/) > [“We all can give in to our inner critic. I don’t know about you, but I would never allow anyone to speak to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-all-can-give-in-to-our-inner-critic-i-don-t-know-about-you-but-i/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [“When your inner critic undermines your confidence, inner conflict, anxiety, and agitation take over. It tells you that you are not good enough, smart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/when-your-inner-critic-undermines-your-confidence-inner-conflict/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [“That may be true, but it’s not the point. Designers learn to have lots of wild ideas because they know that the number one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burnett/that-may-be-true-but-it-s-not-the-point-designers-learn-to-have-lots/) [Bill Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burnett/) > [“Any time you start thinking that being tough on yourself will make you better, you give your inner critic a foothold in your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dani-shugart/any-time-you-start-thinking-that-being-tough-on-yourself-will-make/) [Dani Shugart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dani-shugart/) > [Love your material. Nothing frightens the inner critic more than the writer who loves her work. The writer who is enamored of her material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/love-your-material-nothing-frightens-the-inner-critic-more-than-the/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [My inner critic who had begun piping up about how hopeless I was and how I didn't know to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-garden/my-inner-critic-who-had-begun-piping-up-about-how-hopeless-i-was-and/) [Mary Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-garden/) ## More by Alan Cohen > [When you protect yourself from pain, be sure you do not protect yourself from love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/when-you-protect-yourself-from-pain-be-sure-you-do-not-protect/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Anyone in a state of seeking can never be happy. Only those who are constantly finding are fulfilled. And finding is not something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/anyone-in-a-state-of-seeking-can-never-be-happy-only-those-who-are/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“You cannot be other than you are. Thank God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/you-cannot-be-other-than-you-are-thank-god/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Evaluate every act by whether it brings you greater life, or deadens you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/evaluate-every-act-by-whether-it-brings-you-greater-life-or-deadens/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Put aside ambition for public recognition, and simply do what you do because it feels good inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/put-aside-ambition-for-public-recognition-and-simply-do-what-you-do/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“When you finally give up striving, you will be left with what you have been striving for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/when-you-finally-give-up-striving-you-will-be-left-with-what-you-have/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“newspaper ads for lost pets and earthquakes that soon follow. Other studies indicate a higher rate of last-minute cancellations for airplane flights that crash.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/newspaper-ads-for-lost-pets-and-earthquakes-that-soon-follow-other/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“Quit using your creative power to formulate questions. You can just as easily—more easily— use it to formulate answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/quit-using-your-creative-power-to-formulate-questions-you-can-just-as/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > ['How can I be more like you?' she asked the guru. 'The best way to be more like me is to be more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/how-can-i-be-more-like-you-she-asked-the-guru-the-best-way-to-be-more/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Turmoil is a call for awakening. Every challenge, great or small, is moving you to look deeper and draw forth the highest in you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/turmoil-is-a-call-for-awakening-every-challenge-great-or-small-is/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [The difficulties of life do not keep you from greatness. They show you to its door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/the-difficulties-of-life-do-not-keep-you-from-greatness-they-show-you/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [What a doctor or healer tells you is a reflection of the beliefs and expectations you hold. Change your beliefs and you change the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/what-a-doctor-or-healer-tells-you-is-a-reflection-of-the-beliefs-and/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Quit planning your dream and start living it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/quit-planning-your-dream-and-start-living-it/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [The more you invest in your happiness, the more happiness will invest in you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/the-more-you-invest-in-your-happiness-the-more-happiness-will-invest/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Joy is the wild card of life; it supersedes every other formula for success. If you can find a way to create joy, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/joy-is-the-wild-card-of-life-it-supersedes-every-other-formula-for/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) [Explore all 290 Alan Cohen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you gave your inner genius as much credence as your inner critic, you would be light years ahead of where you now stand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Cohen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/if-you-gave-your-inner-genius-as-much-credence-as-your-inner-critic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/if-you-gave-your-inner-genius-as-much-credence-as-your-inner-critic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/alan-cohen-1112_creativity_if-you-gave-your-inner-genius-as-much-cr_2916866.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/alan-cohen-1112_creativity_if-you-gave-your-inner-genius-as-much-cr_2916866.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/alan-cohen-1112_creativity_if-you-gave-your-inner-genius-as-much-cr_2916866.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you gave your inner genius as much credence as your inner critic, you would be light years ahead of where…” — Alan Cohen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Cohen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you gave your inner genius...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/if-you-gave-your-inner-genius-as-much-credence-as-your-inner-critic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/if-you-gave-your-inner-genius-as-much-credence-as-your-inner-critic/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```