The inner critic.
We all know who that is.
Our doubts, fears, and anxieties compiling into one little voice inside our heads constantly telling us that we're "not good enough" while demeaning the person you spent so long building up.
No matter what we try and do it seems like that voice is always creeping around, waiting for an opportunity to cause us to lose faith in ourselves.
Whether it be replaying embarrassing moments and asking what's wrong with you, or automatically classifying yourself as a failure for not succeeding in something, the inner citric finds a way to convince us that we are not "worthy" of love while creating a blanket of shame.
The inner critic demands absolute perfection and it can be easy to become caught up in its unrealistic expectations. Remind yourself that you are enough and as long as you are being the best person YOU can be, then there is no need to mentally exhaust yourself in trying to achieve such impractical standards set by your inner destructive thoughts.
While it may be difficult to distinguish between your conscious and inner critic, remember that your conscious is there for your best interest. It is present to help you make the right decisions in life and steer you away from the unjust. However, the inner critic is simply there to drag you down and make you feel inadequate in comparison to the people around you. It can cause you to push others away by telling you that you don't deserve that person's love or that you're better off on your own.
Self criticism can be beneficial in the way where it helps one recognize their wrongs and therefore pushing them to be better. However, it may seem that recognizing one's wrongs is all the inner critic does. You may notice how despite achieving something good, you begin downplay its significance by mentally telling yourself that it's "not a big deal" or that "anyone could have done it." This creates a toxic mindset by taking away a sense of happiness and purpose from your everyday mindset.
This sense of negativity may stem from childhood or past years of a teacher, parent, adult, or another person belittling you to a point where you begin to believe the harsh words being said at you. Bottling up said emotions more than likely leads to an endless cycle of seeing yourself as inferior no matter what you do.
Pushing past the inner critic can be hard to do, it takes time and constant reaffirmation that you cannot fit into everyone's mold of how they perceive you. A good way to begin to break out of that shell is to write down all the reasons why you are good at something anytime a self-depriating thought begins to loom around in your mind. Moreover, although it may sound cliche, expressing more confidence in your own self as well as allowing yourself to make mistakes will aid in erasing the stigma that you always need to be hard on yourself in order to achieve greatness.
Although it may be hard to acknowledge it, you are a capable of so much and do not allow that voice inside your head limit you from taking advantage of all the potential you have for the future.
The inner critic is tough, even more so since it exists within our own minds. But remember that you are stronger than you might think and once you are able to push those toxic thoughts and mindsets aside, then the world is yours to conquer.
