Your Inner Critic Is Lying To You
You may well be the best person on the face of the Earth, but unless you can validate it by your actions, it doesn’t matter. The best of you, your spiritual qualities are intangible, it is the body that contains them that has the power to act and make them apparent. That’s why taking care of your body, mind and emotions is – and should be! – a priority to every Holist.
By nature, we’d like to believe that taking care of us is someone else’s job. Well, that’s true of small children, only. Once you’re an adult, the job – and responsibility for it – is all yours.
Trying things, overusing and overindulging is to some degree a part of the growing up process. It’s a brief stage of life. No one lives well, effectively or long by burning the candle from both ends.
There is another aspect of this issue. Many people are uncomfortable with themselves. They believe that they don’t look good enough, aren’t tall or skinny enough, are not smart enough, etc. Consequently, many discount their value and are disrespectful of themselves. How terrible! The true value and beauty of a person are the qualities no one can see! Our bodies, faces, minds and emotions are tools that enable us to convert our true value into tangible reality. Our spiritual values are precious: looks, weight, height, etc. don’t affect our ability to act. Diminishing your own power harms only one person, YOU.
It’s healthy to be self-critical of your actions, like “I could have handled it – or done it – better”. Our actions aren’t always great. But there is a distinct difference between who you are and what – or how well – you’ve done.
Your inner critic is lying to you when it’s criticizing who you are. None of us is 100%. No one is a finished project. We all have some flaws and room for improvement. (BTW, even “the beautiful people” aren’t completely satisfied with themselves.)
So, stop replaying the same old demoralizing self-criticisms. Create a brand new playlist that gives you wings! Embrace your quirks and imperfections; they make you likeable and unique! Love who you are! Value the person you are! Value and enjoy what you have! You are powerful! You have impact! To use it wisely, start by taking good care of yourself!
Here’s an intriguing thought, in Christian religion there is God (the Father), the Holy Spirit (no explanation necessary) and Jesus (the human Son of God). There is no straight out, one, single God. Think what it means. The God Christians worship and pray to isn’t a monolith, but a HOLISTIC composite consisting of mind, spiritual values and human body.
Religions – just like other old wisdom – contain some truth. Even the CONSTRUCT of God is a HOLISTIC composite. So are we. Share on X
To live and act you need a well-functioning body. Get enough sleep. Don’t eat junk, you wouldn’t put watered-down gasoline in the car you depend on, would you? Our lifestyle today contradicts our genetics, to compensate for this contradiction we have to move: exercise, walk, bike, dance, whatever works for you is fine as long as you actually do it.
To live and act well, you need a good mind and balanced emotions. Keep on learning new things. Stay current, be in the know, learn new skills, musical instrument or language. Work on becoming more, every day. Balance your emotions: replenish yourself, meditate, spend some time alone, maintain good relationships. (Good relationships are nourishing!)
To matter, you have to be with people, care about people and causes, do things that distinguish you from others.
We all compare our lives and accomplishments with those of other people. That’s normal. While doing so however remember that while we have exact standards for measuring height, weight and money, among other things, there isn’t such a standard when it comes to measuring success or happiness. There is no universally true definition of any of them, either.
Success and happiness are subjective and as such they cannot be objectively compared. We each have the right to set our own standards of success and happiness. It is possible to be successful and happy at any stage of life as we and our definition of happiness and success evolve.
In your life, YOU get to set many standards.
What’s your definition of success?
Who and what makes you happy?
Give it a thought! And while doing so, take good care of yourself and, instead of getting bogged down by your inner critic, listen to your new playlist that affirms and empowers you.
Photo credit: Free To Use Sounds on Unsplash and Alireza Attari on Unsplash