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(And How to Strike a Biblical Balance)
It is easy to hear the term “self-critical” and be immediately put off. After all, it’s difficult to be our own critics. However, utilizing self-criticism means taking a more self-aware path to ensure that you aren’t overlooking any possible areas of self-improvement.
Self-criticism affects your self-esteem and can be an effective tool to identify patterns of weakness that you can look to eradicate by adapting your behavior.
Self-Criticism vs. Self-Deprecation
In exploring the idea of self-criticism, one has first to consider what it means for the individual. It’s important to remember that there is a significant difference between self-critical and self-deprecating.
Self-deprecation is the act of putting oneself down, sometimes in an attempt to be humorous but frequently out of a place of doubt and insecurity.
Self-deprecation erodes one’s confidence. It isn’t something to use lightly, as your self-talk will play a part in defining your existence and how you are perceived, and, more importantly, how you perceive yourself.
At the same time, you can’t take yourself so seriously that you cannot make light of your mistakes as you pursue self-improvement. There is, of course, a balance to be struck, and both self-criticism and self-deprecation can be utilized in moderation.
Learning the difference between the two is the key to pursuing a productive life that will allow your successes to compound and your failures to be reduced. While self-deprecation can highlight flaws in your approach to life, self-criticism is more concerned with addressing those flaws and then acting to correct them.
Self-Criticism: A Path to Positive Change
Self-evaluation as a tool can open your eyes to the problematic behaviors that are derailing your goals. By identifying those behaviors, you can identify the steps to become the best version of yourself.
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7a)
This idea underlines the importance of not allowing self-criticism to blur into the realm of self-deprecating behavior. That will only work against you as you attempt to analyze your behavior constructively.
Auditing is necessary and reasonable. Look at industries across the board, and you will find that the most successful companies, people, and products have worked hard to refine their final output.
Auditing your life, schedule, clients, contacts, and more will help you to identify the good from the bad.
If you don’t reflect on what you’ve done and allow yourself to be self-critical of the areas that created more problems and fewer results, how will you learn to avoid those missteps in your future endeavors?
Auditing with critical thoughts will allow you to build your own map to success by targeting ineffective behaviors in your pursuit of goals, and it will help you realize the changes that need to take place to correct those inefficiencies.
THE PROS OF BEING SELF-CRITICAL
Self-Criticism Opens Your Eyes to Areas of Improvement
In life, you ought to be your biggest fan and instill confidence in yourself to show the world that you are worthy of the life you’ve achieved.
At the same time, however, you need to be self-aware to understand that you can feel like a million bucks while still having room for improvement. Learn to be self-critical enough to increase your success in pursuing your goals.
We all need to look in the mirror and work to identify the deficiencies in our behavior to find room for improvement. So many people live in a manner that allows no space for self-reflection and thus misses out on key opportunities.
For example, many people complain about not having the money to save for retirement, but instead of working to identify a solution, they assume that it cannot be fixed. Some of those individuals might find that if they challenge themselves and open themselves up to criticism, they may find the source of their problem.
Perhaps they don’t have a proper budget and are spending more money than they bring in weekly. Being self-critical would help them realize this.
I’d argue that it would clear up what is missing from the equation if we all spent more energy evaluating our place in life, how we got there, and where we want to go.
Self-Criticism Allows You to Realize Your Potential
By analyzing your behaviors and identifying areas that need improvement, you will be able to strive to reach your full potential in life and unlock success.
Being self-critical will help you go from where you are now to where you want to be, increasing your self-awareness. There are so many positives to be gained by adopting a self-critical attitude.
THE CONS OF BEING SELF-CRITICAL
Self-Criticism Can Overemphasize Negatives
The problems that could arise if one is overly self-critical are not always apparent, but a few issues can pop up if you start being too hard on yourself.
If you are self-critical too often and don’t allow space in your own audit of yourself for praise, celebration, and reassurance in your victories, then you may be on a path of negative self-talk and perhaps even depression.
If you constantly look for what is wrong with your actions or pursuits while failing to see what you are doing right, you aren’t utilizing self-criticism properly. While the line is thin, there is a difference between appropriate, foundation-building self-criticism and over-zealous, confidence-eroding self-deprecation.
Self-Criticism Can Lead to Negative Distortions of Yourself
One struggle I often see in individuals is with their perception of self. If you have been raised to believe you are a failure, for example, you may not have a healthy expectation of yourself.
By being overly self-critical, you might be distorting your self-image. The key here lies in utilizing the device of self-criticism correctly, which many people often do not do.
If appropriately utilized, self-criticism can be a fantastic tool, but if misused, it can have devastating effects on your self-worth and confidence.
Final Thoughts
When appropriately used, self-criticism can be a tool for success.
We must work hard to ensure that we are, in fact, exercising a constructive analysis of our behavior and not falling into self-deprecation.
Unfortunately, it seems many view the idea of being self-critical negatively. However, it can be an extremely positive and fruitful exercise if pursued with the right mindset.
It is a tremendous help when you have a community of friends and family who also help uplift and encourage you as you pursue your dreams in life.
In evaluating your own situation and attempting to constructively self-criticize, you should also look at the people you surround yourself with to try and better understand if those individuals are helping you in your aspirations or if they are holding you back as you work to better yourself.
If you work to adopt a healthy version of self-criticism and avoid allowing it to delve into self-deprecation or self-doubt, it will serve you well as a tool to support your goals and aspirations.
Adapted from an article by Colton Black
