Advice on being less critical?

sed1217

I've always been one of those "your own worst critic" types. A perfectionist, I guess - nothing I do ever seems to be good enough for me. I was raised in a household that very much embraced this type of thinking, but I've really taken it to an extreme. My body isn't good enough, my workouts aren't good enough, etc...I've been like this for years and it's not helping my weight loss efforts.

Recently, though, I've become more and more aware at how critical I am of other people as well. Not overtly, but I make snarky comments about friends and family behind their backs, criticize their choices with other friends, and tend to generally gossip. I guess what can be said about me is that I absolutely am as hard on myself as on others, if not moreso. But it doesn't keep me from feeling like (and being) a real b****. I think these critical behaviors are interrelated. Any suggestions on how to break this nasty habit?

MyJourney1960

For yourself - get into the habit of replacing a critical thought with a positive one. Or at least a neutral one. Like "I'm such an idiot! I can't believe I did that!" Should be replaced with ''a better choice would have been X". Or " oh no my day was ruined because I had two glasses of coke!" Should be replaced with ''OK, I still have 100 cals left, what can I do to salvage the day"

For your friends: learn to count to ten before you say anything.