Sad? Angry? Depressed? You could be grieving world events

It can happen to all of us. We beat ourselves up. We blame ourselves. We give ourselves a hard time, but we shouldn’t. We should be our biggest fan and support system. People tend to be overly self-critical for a variety of reasons including psychological issues, pressure from society, and personal experiences.

If you find yourself being overly self-critical, don’t worry. There are some things that you can do to turn it around:

  1. Give yourself a break. Try to embrace self-compassion. Always be kind to yourself even when you make mistakes. Treat yourself the same way that you would a friend who is going through something similar.
  2. Put a different spin on it. If you find yourself having negative thoughts, try to reframe them. Try to figure out what you can learn from the situation instead of condemning yourself or thinking negatively.
  3. Get rid of the notion of perfect. No one is perfect and to try to hold yourself to that standard is unrealistic. Every single person makes mistakes. It’s part of living and growing. You will never be perfect every single time so make peace with that.
  4. Check your expectations. It’s important to assess what expectations you are setting for yourself. Are they realistic? You’re not a superhero so don’t set goals and agendas that are out of your reach. Instead, create attainable long-term objectives that you can move towards with small, positive steps forward.
  5. Reward yourself for effort, not outcomes. This can help you learn to appreciate yourself more for the things you do and how hard you try.
  6. Become more grateful. Reflect on the things you have done well, and your strengths. This will help you focus less on the things that don’t go your way.
  7. Kick comparison to the curb. As they say, comparison is the thief of joy. Do your best not to compare yourself to others. Everyone has different backgrounds, experiences, and strengths. The only person you should compare yourself to is a previous version of you.
  8. Come up with a positive mantra. This will be particularly useful when you hit a setback or find that you’ve made a mistake. Tell yourself that you are going to be okay and that you can handle it.
  9. Find your support system. Look for others who can cheer you on when you are feeling bad about something that happened and are beginning to become overly critical. These people can help pull you out of your funk and get you back in a positive mindset.
  10. Meditate and become more mindful. These activities can help you to be more aware of your thoughts and less judgmental when it comes to yourself.

At the end of the day, you’ve got to remind yourself that there is no such thing as perfect and that you are getting better every single day!