hello again quirky
I used to be very self-critical, like all the time you're so fat, you're lazy, you laugh too loud, that person hates you etc. Now it's not so bad as I've learned (taught myself I guess) to be as accepting of myself as I would be of anyone else. Would I reject another person as a friend for saying one thing I didn't agree with? No, so I can't reject the same thing in myself. Do I think people are useless if they are overweight? Of course not. So that must mean I'm not useless just because I'm not thin.
So I guess now I like to think my punitive critic gets short shrift when she shows up. I dropped my husband's electric razor this morning while moving it. I think it's broken and once upon a time I would have berated myself all day about how clumsy I was until I was reassured by him that it was just an accident. Now I tell myself it was an accident, that it doesn't make me a bad person to have dropped something. It's very liberating to be free of the constant self-flagellation I used to do.
There are still things about myself I don't like of course, some I can change some I can't (hate my nose, always have lol). When I do something I wish I hadn't I apologise where necessary, or clean up as best I can and move on from it, rather than get stuck in that one mistake. So I guess my inner critic is much more chill than she used to be.
As for a demanding critic...I guess this means the voice that makes you get up and go to work when you don't want to and stuff like that. I like to think of her as the 'motivator' rather than the critic. She says 'you've done this before, you can do it again!' & 'You're doing this for your family because you love them', which to me tend to be more positive thoughts.
Not sure I've made sense I may be rambling, sorry lol. I forgive myself though, as I would forgive anyone else for rambling at 4pm when the work day has killed the brain cells.
GW