When was the last time you were criticized by someone?

Was it in your school? At your workplace? Or a casual family dinner?

Well, I hope you are nailing it with whatever you’re doing right now, but I’m sure there have been times when you made some horrible mistakes, or moments when things just went out of your hands making you the culprit, as a result, you might have been yelled at by your boss/teacher/parents, etc.

Criticism can take up various forms and shapes depending on the situation and the person at the giving end, be it a negative remark from your teacher on the report card, a reprimand letter by your company, a troll calling you names on Twitter, friends roasting your new hairstyle or even a flying chappal from your mom for not cleaning the room.

All the above examples can be roughly classified as various forms of criticism, but does it mean criticism is a bad/negative thing? Well it’s not a pleasing experience to go through but criticism is quite crucial for your personal as well as professional growth, it helps you analyze your flaws, work on them, and enhance yourself to not repeat them.

But why wait till the damage happens in the first place, only to allow somebody else to hold you accountable for your blunders?

Instead, what if you are your biggest critic on this planet? 
#1) You won’t let others have the opportunity to point their fingers at you

#2) You’ll be more cautious and better at what you’re doing

#3) You’ll be a perfectionist at best or a pragmatist at worst

Sounds interesting right? But being self-critic doesn’t mean beating yourself so hard that you lack self-esteem, which can lead to serious mental health issues.

Being your biggest critic doesn’t mean that you should blame yourself for everything either, especially for the aspects that are beyond your control, It will only turn you into a self-loathing pessimist, and that’s something you would want to avoid at all costs.

There’s a fine line between self-criticism and self-hatred, you don’t want to mistake one for another, as the former would help you evaluate your position and better yourself, the latter snatches away all your means to improve yourself.

    What being your biggest critic is like:

  • Always ask yourself the right questions; what went wrong? How can I make it right?
  • Understanding your strengths and weaknesses
  • Focusing on your unfair advantages (Things that you are naturally good at)
  • Grinding until you master your core skills (ex: writing, maths, swimming, accounting, etc.)
  • Never overestimate yourself, always stay grounded
  • Never feel satisfied or content with your progress keep aiming higher
  • Learn from your mistakes, but don’t shy away from making new ones
  • Never repeat the same mistake

   What being your biggest critic is not:

  • Always finding faults in yourself
  • Trying to dodge your shortcomings
  • Underestimating your abilities
  • Never taking time to assess yourself
  • Letting others decide what’s best for you

These are not some random quotes that inspired me on the internet, they are my learnings from life that made me a better person today, and they don’t necessarily have to be your ground rules for betterment, or in fact, anyone’s for that matter.

Because every one of us is built differently and no two people’s perspective towards life is the same, all you have to do is to find the truth for yourself that no school, college, or job is going to teach you.

I hope this article will find you and help you in some way, please do share your insights on this topic in the comments below, Thanks for reading.