high standards

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Learning To Say No To Your Inner Critic

February 27, 2023 John Uncategorized No comments

Sometimes your loudest critic is the one inside you. It can take a bit of work, but it’s doable.

Let GenuLines help you get started on the project.

Learning To Say No To Your Inner Critic

Being a bit critical of yourself can provide you with the reality check you sometimes need. It can help you make important changes in your life.

But constant self-criticism can lead to stalled progress. And the inability to do what is necessary for your happiness.

So learning how to silence or ignore your inner critic is an essential life skill. Here are some GenuLines strategies that will help you say no to your inner critic.

What is an inner critic?

It’s a voice inside that criticizes your choices, actions, and often your appearance. It’s born out of fear, sadness, and low self-worth.

It’s the thought pattern that tells you, “This isn’t good enough,” or “If only this were different.”

Naming your critic

This can help you recognize it when it is rearing its ugly head. And it can help you put it into perspective.

You might call it The Perfectionist, The Voice, or even The Gremlin. Giving it a less-than-dignified name keeps its power over you low.

Putting your mistakes into perspective can often help tone down your inner critic. With the right perspective, you can quiet that voice in little time.

After a misstep or blunder, be sure to question if anyone else even noticed or cared. As it turns out, we each are not, in fact, the center of the universe, and most people don’t even register others’ errors.

Before feeling that you embarrassed yourself in front of the whole office, think. Was anyone paying attention in the first place?

What would “they” think?

Consider how another person would respond to the way you talk to yourself. What would your spouse or best friend say about your mistake?

What would they say about how you’re talking about yourself or about your mistake? An alternative to this is, if you wouldn’t say it to someone you love, why are you saying it to yourself?

Be kinder to yourself, and soon the inner critic will have no voice.

Have a plan

Develop some pat responses to your inner critic and practice them. The minute you hear that voice beginning to criticize, respond with “So what?” or “Who cares?”

Another favorite is “Big deal!” Take away the critic’s power to influence how you feel and what you do by minimizing your responses and move on.

Your inner critic creates feelings of shame in you because you keep your mistakes secret. When you have made a mistake, admit it so you can move on.

Speak up

Tell someone else what happened or apologize if your mistake harmed others. Then, your inner critic has nothing to complain about,.

You’ll feel better for voicing your feelings instead of keeping them bottled up.

Learn to accept yourself as you are and silence the voice that’s always telling you what’s bad and wrong. This means admitting you’re not perfect.

Hold yourself to realistic rather than perfectionist standards. Find happiness and peace with the chaos that is life.

Mistakes teach you lessons. And you’re the person you are because of all the good and bad things that have happened to this point.

So silence that inner critic by remembering how valuable your life mistakes are.

JohnK 2=27-2023

chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “How much easier it is to be critical than to be correct”

~Benjamin Disraeli

Article image from Mahdi Bafande on Unsplash

How to Develop Lifelong Excellence

July 18, 2022 John Uncategorized No comments

Targeting excellence in all you do is a wise decision. It’s a target you can reach.

Keep reading for some GenuLines ideas on how to stay there once you reach it.

How to Develop Lifelong Excellence

Have you ever felt intrigued or even jealous of how some people seem to excel at everything they do? You have to understand that although nobody can be perfect, it is possible to be excellent.

A great way to develop excellence is by directing your energy into your projects. As long as you acknowledge that you’re doing your best, you’re excelling.

You can’t sit on the couch and at the same time become an excellent runner. You have to get out there and work on running by putting your best efforts into it.

Mastery

Another way to develop excellence is to learn how to master things. This applies to learning new skills, such as how to run a new software program, for example.

You need to commit if you’re going to excel. Before taking on a project or committing to a goal, prepare to commit and follow through with it.

Life is full of challenges

These can be the ones that you set for yourself, or they can be the kind that life throws at you. With any challenge you’re going to make mistakes, and there’s nothing you can do to avoid this.

What you can do is to learn from your mistakes.

Chin Up

When something goes wrong, don’t put yourself down. Instead think of what happened and learn from it. This way you’ll be more prepared the next time.

Another way to challenge yourself is by setting high standards. Don’t feel satisfied with only doing those things that come easy to you.

Do something that takes you out of your comfort zone.

To develop lifelong excellence you want to be open to learning. This may include learning from books or by taking courses.

But it also includes learning from life and adapting to things as necessary. Be open to becoming a reader of life!

Know Thyself

Before you can develop your excellence you must understand what you are all about. Do you know what your strengths and weaknesses are?

Developing a lifelong habit of excellence does not happen overnight. You need to be aware of your journey.

Take in your surroundings, as well as the people you surround yourself with.

Be open to new experiences and be willing to learn from your mistakes. This will move you in the direction of fulfillment, happiness, and yes, excellence.

JohnK 7-18-2022

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