3 Ways to Break the Cycle of Self-Criticism
Stop being so hard on yourself
Being hard on yourself is a hard pattern to break.
Self-criticism is ineffective. When you use it, you are less motivated, you have less self-control, and you procrastinate more. It shifts your brain into a state of inaction where you don’t want to act on reaching your goals.
If you believe you are a failure, then you become a failure
When you are overly self-critical, you distort your self-image.
- How can you take a more balanced approach to assessing your performance?
- How can you create psychological distance from self-criticism?
- How can you keep an eye on the bigger picture?
It is tempting to think that if you are tough on yourself, you’ll perform better. People who are too hard on themselves see self-criticism as justified and people who are perfectionists are vulnerable to this thinking.
“You have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” — Louise Hay, an American motivational author and the founder of Hay House
