Are You Your Best Friend or Worst Critic?

How do you define yourself? If I asked you right now to tell me about yourself would you begin with who you are or would you talk about who you are not? It is easy to forget all of our good qualities if we are focusing on milestones we haven’t reached. If the way you talk to yourself is a way you wouldn’t speak to your worst enemy, you need to change that today.

Negative comments and constant criticism can become a bad habit. When you try to change this habit it may feel strange to be complimenting yourself. For example, you missed a project deadline and your typical thought might be, “I can’t believe I did that. You’re such a loser”. How about saying, “I missed that deadline but I will do better next time”. Or “The project was better for the extra time I took to complete it” Or “Now I know I need to give myself more time to complete this type of project next time”. You get the picture, it’s focusing on the positive outcomes instead of dwelling on the missed deadline.

Do a little check for the next day. Notice how you talk to yourself. Are you supportive? Are you focusing on what you’ve accomplished or do you focus on what you haven’t done? Every time you make a critical comment, stop and rephrase it with a positive one. You will be amazed at how much better and energized you feel. Now make it a great day!