Being negative toward yourself is not considered a good thing in general. But sometimes being realistic toward life can have positive results. There is an art of constructive self-criticism that helps with dealing any situation in your life, if you take proper stock of it.
Self-criticism is not about only pointing out everything that is wrong with your life – it is about being honest with yourself and then finding a solution to the problem.
There is an old story of a monk who kept going from monastery to monastery because he felt that each of them had a smell to it that he couldn’t seem to get away from. As he was leaving the last one, an old wise monk sat at the entrance and stopped him. He asked why the young one kept moving from place to place, so the runaway monk explained that he smelled something awful in each of the monasteries he visited. The old man requested him to look under his own bag – sure enough, there was dirt at the bottom! The moral of the story is that often we look at external sources for our misery and blame it on the world. But sometimes the problem may lie within us, if only we are willing to introspect.
Every one faces obstacles in life. There are times when you feel like you cannot make it through because something or the other keeps stopping you. It’s probably time to take note of what are these disadvantages plaguing you, and if you find a common thread, the problem may be you! Do not harp on that fact and start putting yourself down because that won’t let you get any progress. Instead, start focusing on the solutions that will make your life easier.
It’s all about being honest with you. Sometimes the only way you can solve a problem is by changing your attitude toward it. A good suggestion would be to write a list of all the things you want to change about yourself, and then write how you plan to do so. Self-criticism isn’t a bad thing at all, if you do so with love for yourself in your heart and truth in your head.
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