Harsh Critic or Best Friend

Introspection is extremely important for moving forward. Reviewing your day before going to bed can give you extraordinary results and set you on the path of self-mastery. When we judge our actions objectively, it is good to be critical. But there is also just as much or more value in being one's best friend. 

If I have to choose between a harsh critic or being nice to myself then I'd completely avoid being harshly self-critical and go for being my best friend. 

There is no doubt that we all have noise in our heads. But the internal dialogue we have with ourselves projects into the future. We become what we feel. If you ever see someone giving harsh feedback to someone then it's quite likely that he will give himself feedback in the same heartless tone. They brutally lash themselves and others when they get a chance. This is definitely counter-productive. However, if we can see our mistakes objectively and develop the following shooter's mentality then we can bring a constructive shift in our thinking and alter the story we tell about ourselves. 

The shooter's mentality

Acknowledging that from time to time you will have negative thoughts and that you will make mistakes. But one has to learn to view them as

1. Temporary (it's just this one time) and

2. Non-representative (that's not who I am).

To set yourself up for success, one has to believe in this mantra wholeheartedly and then practice it until the story you tell yourself becomes your dominant way of thinking. 

As Sun Tzu said, "Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win" 

The battle is always within. Start weeding the garden of your life and get to work on that movie about your life. And affirm, "I am enough".