We can be our own worst critic, harder on ourselves than any living acquaintence.
For many of us, our inner critic stems from our childhood, when we never could clear the hurdles or measure up to standards that family members imposed upon us.
Now in our adulthood, perhaps we have become friends with our original childhood critic, or we have made peace with them in other ways.
Yet the internalized inner critic lives on.
Through the inner critic, no matter how hard we've tried in a given situation, it could have always been bettter.
This sets up a profound gap of dissatisfaction and restlessness, where we continuously strive towards yet never reach our goal because the bar keeps rising higher and higher.
Your Best is Truly More Than Good Enough!
If at the end of your day, or at the completion of your project/ assignment, or after concluding your interview, you can look into yourself, declare with honesty:
"I gave it my all. I was fully engaged, fully committed, and did everything within my power to successfully accomplish the task at hand".
than this is all that you need for acknowledging your competance and success.
With this awareness and inner strength, even if some external party is dissatisfied with your work, you can look inside yourself & know that you were in full integrity with your deepest commitment. This inner knowing is all that really matters.
If a boss of yours at work, or a significant other in your life constantly judges you as "not being good enough" in the face of your honest heartfelt commitments to do the work at hand, perhaps it's time for you to have a conference with them and discuss the concern.
If they refuse to hear you out and continue to set unrealistic goals or requirements, perhaps it's time to change your life by declaring your worth and changing jobs or ending the friendship.
(C) 2011, With Love, Stephen Levine - All Rights Reserved
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