Healthy criticism can indeed spur a person to new achievements, but the same cannot be said about unfounded criticism.
The habit of criticizing yourself can completely kill your motivation and desire to move forward.
What to do to stop criticizing yourself
To get rid of such a undoubtedly harmful habit, it is worth taking a conscious approach to your life.
Our inner voices generate many thoughts, both positive and negative. Listen to them and accept them. Don't try to turn off these voices, but rather mute the self-criticism and turn up the volume of those that support you, help you overcome difficulties, and criticize only on the merits.
Over time, your mind will retrain itself to conscious criticism. Here are some effective methods that will help you with this.
1. Start keeping a journal – document all your thoughts and emotions. This way you will understand which criticism is unfair and prevents you from moving forward.
2. End each day by remembering 5 good things you did or that happened to you. Write them down in your journal and reread them to get a boost of positivity.
3. Try mindfulness meditation – this practice calms your thoughts and teaches you to listen to your inner critic from the outside, without dwelling on its reproaches.