"The first thing to do to help quiet self-criticism is to notice that it’s happening"– Author Unknown

Self-criticism is the judgment or low opinion you make of yourself when your think that you have acted or said something wrong. It is worse when you assume that there is something wrong with you instead of looking at the mistakes.

It is wise to bring to your attention your mistakes or errors so that you can take corrective actions instead of masking them. However, you should do it out of courage and not due to anger or spite.

Faultfinding and giving unfavorable judgments will only further affect and lower your self-esteem and self-confidence. Your continuous disapproval and self-condemnation will pull you down and undermine your effectiveness and from becoming successful.You must challenge them.

How to challenge self-criticism?

• Notice when it appears.

A certain thing has to happen each time before you start criticizing yourself. Become aware of your thoughts and feelings when you start to disapprove yourself. You have cultivated your pattern of thinking and feeling from repetition and habituation. You can consciously stop yourself and interrupt the patterns.

• Boldly question yourself.

When you start to disapprove and criticize yourself, question those thoughts. Ask yourself what your inner critic is trying to achieve. Is your inner self trying to protect your from taking risks? Challenge it, have a conversation with yourself and boldly keep questioning each remarks and judgments.

• Use different words to describe your experiences.

Words or the language you use can make or break you. When you criticize 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. Refuse to say that you are stupid or useless when you make a mistake. Instead of saying that you have messed up, tell yourself a different story.

Your subconscious will eventually believe whatever you repeatedly voice out and make them your reality.

• Accept that there's no failure, just feedback.

When something goes wrong or you have made a mistake, accept that as a feedback instead of calling yourself a failure.

When you are thinking about failures and what went wrong, you are unable to look at what is right and what needs to be done.

Develop within you a strong compulsion to grow, learn and master your life. Knowing what you want will give your life meaning and direction. Your focus on your dreams, anticipating something positive and taking positive actions will allow you to silence the self-criticism.

• Refuse to give yourself a bad time.

Life and people are sometimes unfair. Look and find the positive in people and the outcome. If people reject you, instead of looking at what's wrong with you, look for what you could learn from the experience and at what works. Time will heal your hurt and bad experiences.

From now on, become aware of your self-criticism. Learn to laugh at yourself instead. It is no point giving yourself a bad time and feeling bad. Refuse to give yourself insulting remarks, or judging and disapproving yourself because it will make you feel disempowered and unresourceful.

There is so much meaning in life as long as you continue to dream your dreams. Mistakes and errors are stepping stones that will lead you to your goals.