6 Signs You're Too Hard on Yourself
It’s good to be able to be your own critic, but you should give yourself a break every now and then. Constant self-judgment is unhealthy, it prevents you from moving forward and enjoying your life. Here are 6 signs you’re too hard on yourself and need to cut yourself some slack.You’re a perfectionist. You think that whatever you do should be done perfectly. But the truth is, nothing is perfect. If you’re unwilling to settle for anything less than perfection, you become frustrated with yourself and start thinking that you’re a failure. But you’re not a failure, you’re only human. You have the right to be imperfect and make mistakes.
You focus on your failures. Instead of celebrating your accomplishments you focus on your failures, errors and things that you haven’t accomplished. Sometimes it’s okay to look at all the things you have yet to accomplish because it gives you purpose (“There’s a million things I haven’t done, but just you wait!”), but you shouldn’t focus on negativity. Learn from your mistakes, praise yourself for accomplishments and move on.
You compare yourself to others. There will always be people who are richer, smarter, prettier, more successful or better at something than you. When you compare yourself to others, you concentrate on your shortcomings and failures. The only person you should compare yourself to is the person you were yesterday. Have you made any progress? If yes, well done! If no, try harder but don’t beat yourself up about it.
You blame yourself for things you have no control over. You can’t control everything, sometimes you have to sit on your hands and watch things happen because there’s nothing you can do. That’s how life works. You shouldn’t blame yourself for things outside of your control and you shouldn’t feel guilty when something doesn’t go according to the plan. Sometimes things just happen.
You can’t let things go. You still worry about the breakup with your high school sweetheart and feel embarrassed about your first job interview even though you ultimately got the job. Stop it! It’s time to move on. Don’t let the past hold you back.
You’re too hard on others. The critical nature of a person who is hard on themselves can be passed onto how they view people around them. If you want to be perfect, you might expect it from others too. No one is ever good enough for you. Maybe you’ve set the bar too high? Unrealistic expectations only lead to disappointments.