Minimize Self-Criticism

By Joel Garfinkle

According to more than a dozen medical studies the path to a longer, healthier life is fairly simple: be optimistic. Dr. Christopher Petersen, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, has found that pessimistic young people are less likely to grow into healthy adults, and more likely to die prematurely. Pessimists are also more likely to suffer traumatic accidents.
Believe it or not, optimism also pays off at the racetrack. Dr. Petersen's studies revealed that pessimists were more likely to take risky bets and lose while optimists came away the winners. So it's no surprise that optimism also pays dividends in the workplace. Positive people are more likely to get hired and promoted.
But there's one problem. It's ourselves. We're our own worst enemies when it comes to positive thinking. We need to minimize self-criticism by being aware of the constant self-evaluation.
Self-evaluation is an effective way to monitor and improve your performance. It's healthy and necessary for learning. According to psychologist and author Terry Paulson, it's estimated that individuals make between 300 to 400 self-evaluations per day.
That's a lot of opportunities to correct your mistakes, sharpen your focus, adjust your style and improve the perceptions others may have of you at work. But here's the rub. Paulson says that, for the average person, 80 percent of these self-evaluations are negative!
Constant self-criticism can be demoralizing. It erodes your confidence and self-esteem. You become overwhelmed with self-doubt and take fewer risks. You've already got enough pressure on you without your inner-voice second-guessing and undermining your every move.
If you're a victim of chronic self-criticism, I suggest you take the following steps to minimize self-criticism: