Are You Judging Yourself too harshly?

It seems as though no one can judge me harder than the way I judge myself! I am my own worst critic at times. It is not that I start off that way. It can take one triggering situation where all of a sudden I am thrown off balance then it happens. The inner critic comes out to tell me “I should have known better”, “I could have done better”, “why did I do that?” etc. You get the picture! It happens to us all. The trick to combatting this inner voice, that just wants to continue the constant badgering, is to do something different. Albert Einstein says “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking used when we created them”. In other words, you have to change your thinking if you want to solve the problem of the inner critic.

So how is it that we change our thinking to be more positive about ourselves and less critical? Simple. Do not judge yourself. Is this so simple though? When we judge we compare ourselves to those we perceive to have it all together. We also tend to judge according to what the world expects us to be with the myriad of ads, media, commercials, billboards, status etc. But is that reality for you? Maybe the world isn’t juggling all the resposibilities you have or your set of circumstances exactly like you do. The minute we start to compare ourselves to others then judge ourselves we have fallen out of alignment with our true selves and are now relating with our ego. The ego loves when you judge so it can feel inflated. Unfortunately, that is short lived and always catches up with you. In the long run you are doing yourself a disservice.

To be able to free yourself from judgement means you have to be willing to acknowledge that you do it! An easy exercise to see how you judge yourself is to notice how harshly you judge other’s. If you notice that you are constantly picking apart people or tend to be super critical of them, their work, the way they do things or don’t do things then this is a good indicator that you also pick on yourself the same way. Most likely when you are kinder to yourself you can have more compassion for others. It takes practice to realize you are in this state of mind. You have to think differently if you want different results. This requires observing your actions without judgement. Witnessing your behavior so it can change. Things don’t have to be right or wrong or good or bad. They can just be as they are allowing you to be as you are.

Your life will change when you can free yourself from judgement. It is such a liberating act to witness your behavior but not getting attached to it. Not expecting yourself to be perfect. Not feeling less then because you can’t get it all done. Not picking on yourself because you are not what, where or who you want to be. When you accept yourself for what, where and who you are now in this moment you don’t have to judge yourself. You are in flow with where you are in your journey. It takes the stress off of you. To judge others takes a lot of work because you are hooked into negative energy. Deep down inside you do the same to yourself and it becomes exhausting. If you do notice you are doing this then give yourself credit for working on it then let it go. Continue to walk in self compassion anyway.

Try to find activities that help you tap into your creative side allowing you to enjoy your life rather than being so critical. Take the time to pay attention to the way judgement shows up in your life. This is an exercise to help you feel better in the long run about yourself. If you notice an area that needs improvement then you can allow it to be an opportunity for healing. What better way to heal than to start being kinder to yourself on a daily basis. Self love is the key to freeing yourself from the unnecessary harsh judgment. You will reap the results first hand. You also will notice that you allow others to be themselves without criticizing so much. The two go together. How you see yourself is how you see others! This is life’s mirror showing you an opportunity to heal. You can be brave by witnessing where you can improve or you can continue to allow judgement to control your life. What’s it going to be?

Something to think about:

Do I tend to judge myself and others critically?

Affirmations to live by:

I am exactly where I am supposed to be on my journey. Everything always works out to my highest and greatest good. I am enough. I do enough. I have enough. I love and approve of myself just as I am now. I am doing my best. Others are doing their best. I am free to live my life as I choose. Others are free to live their life how they choose. I am a work in progress. I free myself from judgement. I free myself from bias. I free myself from attachment. I live a more gratifying life striving to be the best version of myself. I am at peace with myself.