Chip Chick
Your inner dialogue can either make you or break you as a person. Many of you have probably heard the expression, “You are your own worst critic.”
This is undoubtedly true for many. Unfortunately, your self-talk can rob you of confidence and scare you from trying anything new out of fear of failure, rejection, or abandonment.
Your thoughts influence your feelings and actions. Where the mind goes, the body follows. Many of you will fall victim to the “self-fulfilling prophecy” if you allow your self-criticism to get out of control.
If you happen to be a harsh self-critic, you are not alone. In some situations, it is reasonable to criticize yourself. For example, perhaps you didn’t study for an important test and now have an F. It makes sense to want to criticize yourself for not studying. However, there is a line between healthy criticism and toxic criticism.
If you find yourself calling yourself horrible names, always doubting your abilities, and consistently predicting the worst outcome, you need to reevaluate how hypercritical you are of yourself.
To help you out, here are 7 steps to help you overcome being so hypercritical of yourself.
Step #1: Mind your thoughts.
Thoughts affect how you feel, which in turn affects how you behave. Over time you can start to notice your hypercriticism less and less. Pay attention to your thoughts. Knowing how often you criticize yourself is a big step in halting negative thought patterns.
After all, we cannot fix what we do not know exists. Writing down each occurrence can help you visualize how often you criticize yourself. It can be an eye-opener when you start to keep a tally.
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