What Is Self-criticism And How To Do It

Self-criticism is a technique that consists of analyzing our actions, abilities and ways of behaving. In other words, it is an individual evaluation that is made up of judgment, opinion and evaluation of actions and performance. According to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy⁽¹⁾self-criticism is the evaluative judgment that we have about our own actions.

Self-criticism is not only about reviewing behavior, but also about evaluating personal performance in the different areas of our life to see what we can improve or enhance. Therefore, we can be self-critical of our appearance, emotions, intellectual performance, behavior and even our own personality.

Causes of self-criticism

The origin of self-criticism depends on each individual context. Next, we will mention some of the possible causes of self-criticism:

• Too demanding parents.
• Teachers and bosses who put excessive pressure.
• Study or work colleagues who pressure and demand.
• Participate in sports or activities that are very competitive.

Furthermore, self-criticism can be the product of a lot of pressure in the face of different daily challenges such as, for example, raising one’s academic level, finding a partner, or having to do everything perfectly. Now, one Well-managed self-criticism is beneficial to enhance some personal aspects. The problem arises when it becomes highly toxic and becomes a limitation to moving forward in life.

Well-managed self-criticism is essential to identify your strengths, weaknesses and personal successes. On the one hand, it is essential to evaluate how to face difficulties assertively. In other words, it allows you to assess your true potential to unlock those obstacles that separate you from success.

On the other hand, constructive self-criticism helps eliminate unhealthy habits and strengthen self-awareness for personal development and growth. In this article you will discover what it means to live consciously and how to practice it.

As for types of self-criticism, there are constructive and destructive. Let’s see the characteristics of each of them below.

Constructive self-criticism

Constructive self-criticism is a strategy that serves to see what we can change in our lives and thus improve as people. In other words, it is an analytical judgment that helps build new paths to reach a better solution.

It is a fact that those who use constructive self-criticism, considered positive, have good self-esteem, since they can manage their own mistakes to learn from them, without feeling guilty.

An example of constructive self-criticism is when we set ourselves the goal of obtaining a good grade on an academic evaluation, but the results we obtained were not the best. Then, based on internal dialogue, we try to analyze where we failed to apply new strategies. That way, we’ll work on getting better grades next time.

Destructive self-criticism

This type of self-criticism is focused strictly on errors, so they tend to be a source of blockage and mental unrest. It is common for those who criticize themselves negatively to have very low self-esteem, because internally they treat themselves in a severe and sometimes cruel way.

According to Thompson and Zuroff’s level scale, destructive self-criticism can be classified as follows:

• Comparative destructive self-criticism: It makes you always compare yourself with others and never believe that you are good enough for something.
• Internalized destructive self-criticism: it stagnates you in the belief that you will never be up to the challenges, which is why you almost always end up abandoning the goals you have set.

Let’s look at some examples of destructive self-criticism below:

• I don’t think I’m a qualified person for that task.
• No matter how much I study, I never pass.
• I’m not someone with creativity, I don’t even talk.
• I don’t know how to plan, it’s better not to continue on this team because I’m not good at this.

In short, people who are very self-critical find it difficult to make good decisions, because they are constantly upset with their actions, ideas and attitudes. In this article, we show you how to make difficult decisions in life. Furthermore, it is almost impossible for them to ask for help fear of being described as weak or clumsy. Furthermore, they avoid taking risks and taking on new challenges.

The keys to learning to do good self-criticism are the following:

• Pay attention to your thoughts: Learn to identify how you treat yourself and correct your internal dialogue to a positive and more understanding pattern.
• Set feasible goals: If you have goals in mind, you will be able to evaluate the quality of your steps and actions. Of course, do not set very ambitious goals, since you can fall into frustration. It is better to take short, but safe steps.
• Don’t criticize yourself in the most difficult moments: Take a breath, try to calm down and then, more calmly, evaluate all your alternatives.
• Put aside perfectionism and accept that all humans make mistakes. Discover what perfectionism is in psychology and how to overcome it.
• Be grateful for each of the situations that come your way: This way, you will not see problems as mistakes or failures, but as great opportunities for learning.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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