{"id":38341,"date":"2016-01-24T22:57:29","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T06:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=38341"},"modified":"2016-01-27T14:29:00","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T22:29:00","slug":"4-ways-prevent-self-criticism-holding-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/4-ways-prevent-self-criticism-holding-back\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Ways To Prevent Self-Criticism from Holding You Back"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cRemember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn\u2019t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.\u201d\u00a0\u2015 Louise L. Hay, You Can Heal Your Life<\/p>\n

Have you ever wished that you weren\u2019t so hard on yourself? Or are you someone who believes that you aren\u2019t hard enough on yourself? Do you feel little of what you do meets your \u201cstandards\u201d, or that being harder on yourself will help you achieve more and move faster?<\/p>\n

In this article I will discuss four common causes of self-criticism. I will also cover why becoming less critical of yourself is a good thing, and ways in which you can do so. I hope that by the time you finish this article you will realize that being hard on yourself is not a prerequisite for accomplishing your goals. I want to empower you and help you leave the toxic habit of self-criticism behind. Now, for the four main causes of self-criticism:<\/p>\n

1) You believe that self-criticism is helping you<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many of us believe that self-criticism is necessary if we want to accomplish things and move forward in our lives. Ironically, this couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. Most of us have a deep-seated fear that, if we don\u2019t push ourselves hard enough, we will become lazy or complacent. Or, worse yet, we will in turn fail to reach our goals in life. There is an inner voice that tells us that we aren\u2019t good enough, that we shouldn\u2019t have done this or that, or that we should be trying harder. However, it\u2019s important to question that inner voice. Are the beliefs it espouses true? And is criticizing, pushing, and berating yourself genuinely helping you? Does it make you feel better, or does it make you feel worse?<\/p>\n

2) You are lacking in self-compassion<\/strong><\/p>\n

What if becoming more self-compassionate happened to be more effective than criticizing yourself? Well, this concept isn\u2019t just conjecture or feel-good advice. It\u2019s backed up by science. In fact, studies have shown that people who are self-compassionate tend to perform better and persevere longer than those who aren\u2019t. This makes sense if you think about it. After all, can you imagine how much more inner peace and emotional stability you would experience if you stopped beating yourself up?<\/p>\n

When it comes to criticizing yourself, I know how it is. I\u2019ve been there. I used to be very hard on myself. Once I tried self-compassion, however, I realized that I was wasting much less time beating myself up. This freed me to move quickly past failures instead of wasting time and energy dwelling upon them. I was better able to cope with challenges. Practicing self-compassion provided multiple benefits. This is my question to you: are you being compassionate enough with yourself?<\/p>\n

3) Your life is full of \u201cshoulds\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are hard on yourself, you are likely to cling to a certain image of yourself. This image includes how you \u201cshould\u201d act, what you \u201cshould\u201d say, how you \u201cshould\u201d look, how things \u201cshould\u201d be, and so on. Then, when you fail to adhere to these \u201cshoulds\u201d, you become depressed, use it as an excuse to play the victim, and give up instead of moving on. Why not accept that things are as they are and recognize that, even if you aren\u2019t moving as fast as you\u2019d like, it\u2019s not a big deal? You\u2019ll get where you want to go if you stay focused. Fretting over the speed of your progress is more likely to cause failure than the speed of progress itself. So, how many \u201cshoulds\u201d do you have in your life?<\/p>\n

4) You habitually judge others<\/strong><\/p>\n

The harshness with which you judge yourself is probably equal to the harshness with which you judge others. It\u2019s possible to judge others on a regular basis on a subconscious level. You might think, \u201cShe\u2019s mean\u201d, \u201cHe\u2019s always complaining,\u201d, or even, \u201cWhy is she wearing such ridiculous clothes?\u201d Once you realize how much you judge others, you\u2019ll have the ability to notice and diminish the habit, thereby becoming less critical of yourself and others. That said, don\u2019t try repressing this urge to judge, as that will turn into yet another \u201cshould\u201d. Just observe the habit without identifying with it. Are you aware of the frequency with which you judge others, or do you need to take a closer look at it?<\/p>\n

In Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would like to leave you with a challenge: for seven full days, trade self-criticism for self-compassion. <\/strong>Then, share your experience with me by leaving a message below. Did you accomplish less? Did you become lazy? Or were you more productive and energetic? I would love to know! So, are you up to the challenge?<\/p>\n

Here is a special bonus for you<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why not go further in your personal development journey? If you like this article I\u2019m sure you will benefit from my\u00a0free <\/strong>E-book, The 5 Commandments of Personal Development<\/em>.<\/p>\n

You can download it here<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Thibaut Meurisse is the founder of\u00a0whatispersonaldevelopment.org. Obsessed with self-improvement, he dedicates his life to finding the best possible ways to transform his life and the lives of others. Check out his\u00a0<\/em>free <\/em><\/strong>E-book<\/em>\u00a0\u201c<\/em>The 5 Commandments of Personal Development<\/em><\/a>\u201d or order his\u00a0<\/em>new book<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>Goal Setting: The Ultimate Guide To Achieving Goals That Truly Excite You\u00a0<\/em><\/a>on Amazon!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cRemember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn\u2019t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.\u201d \u2015 Louise L. Hay, You Can Heal Your Life Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9303,"featured_media":38370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[205,32,6],"tags":[4653,3472,66,2520,207,4629,319],"yoast_head":"\n4 Ways To Prevent Self-Criticism from Holding You Back<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cRemember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn\u2019t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.\u201d \u2015 Louise L. 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