Are you your worst critic? Or are you your best fan?
Before answering, think about it.
It just depends, right?
When you’re good, it’s ‘you go girl!’ But when you’re bad, not good bad. But bad bad. The verbal abuse begins. You call yourself all kinds of names.
Does ‘you dummy!’ ring a bell?
I won’t say join the club. Because most of us are lift time members.
And both critic and fan are normal.
It’s easy to criticize yourself. Nitpicking every detail like fuzz on a sweater. And pretty soon a hole appears.
Imagine that the sweater is your dream. A hole in your goal or dream is awful. Your self-confidence vanishes. Your commitment wains. And you find yourself doing nothing. Going nowhere and depressed.
Instead of the engine that can, you become the engine that can’t. Thinking you’re not good at this or that.
But good compared to whom or what? Compared to a vision of the perfect you?
Perfection isn’t a gift. And I don’t know anyone who is flawless.
Do you?
But admitting that the ‘best you’ may never be perfect isn’t settling or giving up.
If being ‘okay’ isn’t good enough. Becoming ‘better’ is okay.
We should all aspire to be better at everything we do. Every day is an opportunity to be better.
If your inner critic is all about perfection, okay isn’t good enough. And better won’t fly either. Seeking perfection means whatever you do is never good enough.
We must manage our inner-critic.
I’ve learned to control my inner critic better. And you can too.
The word better sounds like a disclaimer. Because better control isn’t controlling. But what can I say? I’m getting better.
Our inner critic is a subpersonality that judges and ridicules. And can be a friend or foe.
As a friend, being critical is beneficial. It helps us to recognize areas of improvement. And will seek growth and development.
Constant development creates stronger rungs on your ladder to success.
As a foe, your inner critic diminishes your enthusiasm, shreds your confidence, and even brings about depression.
Make sure your inner critic is a friend and not a foe.
You’re not a dummy!
You and I are human. And we make mistakes.
How do I deal with my inner critic? I try to turn self-criticism into constructive criticism.
I’m not saying it’s easy. Counterpunching negative thoughts with positive ones is challenging. It takes several positive thoughts to knockout a negative one.
Self-critiques that strengthens instead of tearing down are better. And in our best interest.
My inner critic likes the ‘D’ word, (Dummy). And tried to convince me I wouldn’t finish this post in time.
I duck taped the thought and started writing.
There’s nothing like shutting-up critics. Even when the critic is you.
Replacing inaction with action will silence the harshest critic. It does it every time.
Don’t beat yourself up. You can’t change the past. Become better today by learning from yesterday’s missteps.
Today, I am learning to be my biggest fan. I will do even better tomorrow.
I’m not perfect. Tell your inner critic; you’re not perfect.
It’s settled. We’re not perfect.
But here’s something to remember.
“Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots.”
– Frank A. Clark