Self-Criticism and Being Self Critical

Self-criticism is an act of nitpicking and disapproving of one's action or behavior.

Being self critical does more harm than good. A person who has low self esteem will make an incorrect personal judgment and evaluation. This is because he has a low opinion of himself and doesn't think that he's good enough. He belittles, underestimates and underrates his capabilities.

When he affirms that there is something wrong with him, he will become and do more of what he sees in himself. This will make him criticize himself further. His feeling of self worth will go way down. He will think of himself as a loser and believe that he's never going to be good at anything or with anyone. Constant barrage of self-criticism leads to self loathing.

Yes, it's true that you have to be honest with yourself. And you should take a look at your errors, mistakes and faults. This is one of the ways to learn, correct them and not repeat the same things. But criticizing, disparaging or condemning is not the way to do it.

The better and proper way is to go to the root of the problem, and that is to improve your self esteem.

When you think, see and feel better about yourself, you will have a positive outlook and make better personal assessment. You examine your actions and behaviors and find the solutions instead of searching for your flaws and weaknesses.

And dealing with criticisms from other people becomes easier because you are no longer sensitive and have become approachable. You accept them as constructive criticisms and consider them as useful feedbacks to further your growth and development.

A certain thing acts as a trigger before you reproach yourself. You have cultivated a pattern where you subconsciously react to a situation. Becoming aware of your thoughts and feelings is the beginning of correcting your habit. Pause for a moment and listen to your internal critics. What are you saying to yourself?

Is your mind replaying some old recordings of whatever have happened once upon a time? Whose voice are you hearing? Is it yours, your parents or someone who used to condemn you? Ask your inner self what it is trying to achieve? Have a conversation with yourself and boldly keep questioning each remarks and judgments.

Words or the language you use can make or break you. When you disapprove yourself, you use words. The words affect your emotions and body sensations and then affect your state of mind.

Learn to use different words to describe your emotions and experiences. When you make a mistake, stop saying that you are stupid or useless. Instead say something that doesn't define you as incompetent.

Isn't it better if you say, "Okay, here a little boo boo. I'll do better the next time." It will help you change your state, laugh at yourself and lightens things up. When you are in a better mood, you can think well and find solutions.

When something goes wrong or if you have made a mistake, accept that as a feedback. It's just not the right strategy. Try another.

Life and people are sometimes unfair. Look and find the positive instead of looking at what's wrong with you. What can you learn from the experience? It is no point giving yourself a hard time and feeling bad.

What do you think?

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Reevaluate My Decision 
I'll re-evaluate my decision to give up my career because I upset someone with a bad conference presentation that I gave.

Thank you for succinct and ...

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