Voice of Reason
My childhood memories are few, but most of memories relate to being the older sister. That was my ticket to being the voice of reason. One such time came after my sister came home devastated after taking her AP (Advanced Placement) math exam.
I can still see where we were when she broke down in tears. We were in her bedroom, which was once mine. She was sitting on her bed. I stood at the foot of the bed anxiously waiting to know why she was so upset.
With tears coming down her face, in near hysterics, she said, “I know I didn't do well on my exam.”
Of course, I had no idea how she officially did. What I did know, however, was that my sister was a bright kid and a much better test taker than me.
My advice to her was to stop crying. Save the tears for the results. In that moment, there was no way of knowing how she REALLY did, therefore there was no need to be too hard on herself. I ended with, “You probably did well anyway. Don't be too hard on yourself. Do you remember the time you thought you did poorly on an exam and aced it?”
Are You Too Hard on Yourself?
What about you? Are you too hard on yourself? If you are not sure, here is just a handful of statements that say that you are indeed too hard on yourself.
If you expect nothing but the best always.
No matter how well you have performed in the past, you do not expect the same of your current situation.
If you aim to please and take care of everyone in lieu of your needs.
If you expect to knock the ball out of the park on your first try.
Now that you have an idea of what it means to be too hard on yourself, I ask you again: are you too hard on yourself?
Do this ONE Tweak If You're Too Hard on Yourself
I KNOW that sometimes I do not cut myself a break. In order to do better at cutting myself a break or when I am about to go on the deep end with self doubt, I make one tweak.
It is that one tweak that I discuss in this video.
Oh and about my sister and her AP exam results, she got a five out of five. All those tears for what? Treat yourself better. You are worth it.
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What methods do you use to cut yourself a break when you are being too hard on yourself? Share in post comments.