Most of us are familiar with those nagging thoughts that tell us we are not good enough, casting doubt on our ability to achieve our goals and undermining our accomplishments. These thoughts might be there to greet us when we first wake in the morning, about how bad we are at our jobs or life and can even be the first things we think when we see ourselves in the mirror in the morning – “You're so unattractive, you're looking even fatter, how ugly are you”.
This horrible inner critic might continue with you into work – “You will never be any good at this job, you should just give it up. You'll never get everything done, what will people think. You are just not intelligent enough for this job, you'll be caught out soon. No one even notices you anyway so why are you bothering, just give up you loser”.
It can even be there to critique your closest relationships – “He doesn't really love me. Why would anyone care about me? It will never last. You’re best to leave him now”. Or if you are trying to find a partner it’s; “Who would want me? I’m not attractive, I’m not desirable, they are bound to choose someone else”.
For most people we are all a game of two halves, part of us is goal-directed and self-possessed, while another part is self-critical, self-denying, and even self-destructive. Don't think you're on your own with this, as we all have these traits, it's not about having them; it's about how much we have and where the balance is...
