Home→Forums→Emotional Mastery→Too Criticizing of Myself
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August 23, 2016 at 8:15 am #113057AnonymousGuest
Dear Shirley, Earth Angel, Poet and Writer:
I too used to be inspired to write poems when listening to music. You definitely enjoy writing, have the imagination and inspiration to … inspire others.
For example, your line: “If I had to do it over again, I would go dance like no one’s watching”- is inspirational to me. And I know you do dance when you are alone. The idea that you would dance in front of people- that I would dance in front of people AS IF no one is watching is incredibly inspirational to me.
It doesn’t have to be literally dancing- but expression, being spontaneous and care free in front of others.
anita
August 23, 2016 at 11:03 am #113083JanusParticipanti often find myself surprised when some people tell me that i am confident and outgoing. my former ap world history teacher once told me that i was good at public speaking and great at improvising b/c there were times i had to change a word in the middle of a presentation and even though i was a bit nervous, i managed to do it w/o much of a slip-up. i have a natural quiet voice and it never gets loud enough for an auditorium full of people, but my voice when it’s at decent octaves often radiates what i’m feeling in a strong way. i may be feeling insecure, but my voice manages to make people think i’m still in control. i am quite reserved around people, but when there is a new person, i will be the first person to say hi and make a friend even if i feel a little shy. my inner bully seems to make situations worse than they really are such as when i’m outside with people and it will say “that person is saying that you are weak. that person thinks your ignorant. that person thinks you’re a bad athlete.” most of the time, the people i meet are quite nice and they smile at me and in turn i smile back. a lot of the teachers who meet me think i have an inner confidence and most don’t see the inner bully. often times i let the inner bully make me feel quite irritated with myself and become withdrawn from people b/c i think they are judging me when they are wondering if i’m okay. sometimes when people are watching me play a sport, my inner bully makes me miss a basket 50 times b/c it keeps telling me “they are saying you stink. you’re not healthy anyway. you’re not good enough for anything.” that is why even though i am good at sports, i may act like a klutz in front of people. the strange thing is that the inner bully affects me so much for sports and being on stage, but it doesn’t affect me during public speaking esp. when it comes to science or history. there are still some people who act mean, but that doesn’t mean everyone i meet is judgmental. i am often surprised when people tell me that they like my creative side, the side that laughs and runs through nature enjoying life to the fullest. i often thought that side would make me look weak and have my head in the clouds (it does to some people who don’t know me well), but often times people like it.
i think the inner bully often is strongest in environments that i’m still not the most comfortable at. i like academics so when it comes to academic subjects, my inner bully will fade once i become into the academic subject since i’m in my element, but since i’ve only done sports and athletics for four years, i still feel as if there’s places i need to work on. whereas in academics i’ve always enjoyed learning new subjects from fourth grade. also i am most often myself out in nature than being in crowded cities or places whom the people have confidence like the city council.
- This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Janus.
August 23, 2016 at 12:03 pm #113088JanusParticipanthere is a quote i wrote inspired by a friend’s quote:
Friend’s quote: “Never live life suffering from Depravity, for the soul that is afraid to Die, is the soul that never learns to Live.” – Melthan.
Mine: “What a shame it is for a person to die without knowing the endurance of his human spirit and to only focus on the materialness and strength of his physical body. The whole world is full of everybody else, but few realize their true selves.”
August 23, 2016 at 7:53 pm #113103AnonymousGuestDear Shirley, Earth Angel:
You are a good writer, I believe and your imagination takes you and the reader to incredible places, places of beauty, inspiration and wisdom.
Like you wrote a few posts ago, imagination has no limits.
I want to make a point to you about limitations and the inner bully: we are limited: we can imagine flying, for example, but once we jump up in the air, gravity will get us down every single time.
When you study in school, sometimes you have a difficulty understanding a particular topic. This means your ability to understand that topic is at the least temporarily limited. This will always be the case: you can imagine achieving anything, but in real life, you do have limitations. I do. Everyone does.
I call the inner bully a bully because he/ she is abusive. But it will be a mistake to think that if it wasn’t for the inner bully you will be having no limitations.
We do need an Inner Critic, otherwise known as the Superego (Frued)- a part of our brain that is aware of our limitations but does not ABUSE us or BULLIES us because of these limitations.
When you encounter a limitation, a difficulty, like not understanding (at east temporarily) a subject matter at school, or not doing well in sports in one area- accept that it is so for everyone. Accept it and treat yourself gently and patiently. Say to yourself: everyone is limited, temporarily at the least. It is natural and normal, a fact of life. It is not a reason to be mean to myself. What I need to do is be patient and gentle with myself and do my best within my limitations, but stretch my abilities best I can.
I hope I am making my point: accepting your limitations with gentleness and patience toward yourself and not abusively.
Do you understand my point and what are your thoughts?
anita
August 24, 2016 at 3:42 pm #113192JanusParticipanti agree that everyone has there limitations and people should strive for their best. i have parents who want me to be perfect in school, peers who want me to be athletic. the constant pressure of people annoys me. i am working on embracing myself for who i am, but there are people who find faults in a lot of the things i do. whenever i am working on a new thing for the first time, i often have some people who are more experienced teach me and some teachers are kind while others yell. i like my former pre-calc teacher b/c she was very laidback and spread her love for math into her teaching and taught her students to enjoy math. when someone didn’t understand it, she would spend time with them and make them understand it.
- This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Janus.
August 24, 2016 at 8:44 pm #113207AnonymousGuestDear Shirley, Earth Angel:
Treat yourself like your pre calc teacher treated you and other students when they had difficulty with the subject matter. Whenever you find yourself struggling in academics or sports, treat yourself in a laid back manner, calm, relaxed, gentle, patient.
It is when you have difficulty that you need your own kindness the most.
The bullying by other people, the pressure and bullying and negative criticism by others and the one within, these are harmful. It is the exact opposite of pressure that you need: calm and gentleness.
anita
August 26, 2016 at 2:28 pm #113351JanusParticipantonly 10 days till school starts and i feel a bit restless and nervous. i am so excited and also nervous about doing well in my classes. i wonder if i my guidance counselor will think i’m dumb b/c the application process is a bit confusing.
August 26, 2016 at 8:20 pm #113382AnonymousGuestDear Shirley, Earth Angel:
I am excited for you, about to start your final year in high school. Remember to not let the inner bully you harass you and at the same time, accept that you are human and have difficulties and limitations. But you also have great determination. You are a hard worker, creative, wise. You will do well, Shirley! You will see, you will do very well.
Try to be as laid back as you can be. Remember the title of the longest running thread on tiny Buddha: “Too criticizing of myself”- be empathetic to yourself instead. When you feel nervous, talk to yourself as you would talk to a nervous, agitated young child. Calm and soothe yourself, breathe deep and slow. Do the things you did in the past that calmed you, engage your visuals or listen to your favorite music… meditate. Do one thing or another, see what will calm you this time.
I am excited for you. You have what it takes, Shirley, Earth Angel!
anita
August 27, 2016 at 1:36 pm #113451JanusParticipantthanks a lot anita for saying i am a hard worker. your constant encouragement is great;) although it took me 5 weeks to understand the role of kinase enzymes in the steps of glycolysis and how cells produce ATP through endergonic and exergonic reactions, but I think I have a better understanding of the process. when i first wrote the essay in july, my ap bio teacher said i forgot to mention kinase enzymes and also that photosynthesis and fermentation aren’t relevant to ATP production. fermentation doesn’t produce atp, it is only used to convert toxic pyruvic acid in glycolysis to lactate when there is no oxygen (this explains tired muscles using atp energy). Consumers like us get chemical energy from the producers such as plants when they convert light energy to chemical energy in photosynthesis. i think i have realized how every chapter connects now. the energy generated by the plants which are eaten by the herbivores which are in turn eaten by the carnivores and the humans make up the food chain in our ecosystem. there is only a transfer of 10% of energy through the trophic levels of the biological pyramid of biomass b/c some of the energy is lost as heat or consumed by detritivores/decomposers. the laws of thermodynamics (energy transfer and transformation): the first law is the conservation of energy, the second law states that every energy transfer and transformation increases the entropy or disorder of the universe. energy flows through an ecosystem as light and exits as heat, so some of the heat energy is unavailable for work (entropy). the ap biology book doesn’t talk about the third law, but i looked it up and it’s pretty complicated. matter cycles through the ecosystem unlike energy which undergoes transformations, matter goes through cycles such as the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, phosphorus cycle and the water cycle. these elements are important to life on earth.
i ended up taking at least 50 pages of notes and using three other books in relation to my ap biology book and also 10 internet sources to understand. i think it makes sense now and i have shortened my notes to around 10 pages. i love science even though it’s a bit hard at times.August 27, 2016 at 2:22 pm #113452JanusParticipantalso i learned not to be so self-conscious of myself from Portia de Rossi’s book called “Unbearable Loss and Gain” which is the true story of an actress who struggles with her body and ends up accepting herself. Portia talks about how as a teen, she hated being called average or normal b/c everyone in her family had many accomplishments such as being a doctor or being pretty. At first she wanted to be a lawyer, but her aunt and mom (portia’s dad died when she was young) liked Allison best b/c she was a model. Portia began to think she should also be a model as well and have people admire her. Portia never liked the modeling business, but she enjoyed acting so she decided to give it a shot. While modeling, Portia faced many letdowns from the people in the modeling business such as that she was a size eight and her stomach was too big and also her thighs. at 5′ 7” inches and 130, portia didn’t think she would be a good model. however, the pressure of the achievements and the interest of wanting to be recognized lead her to try. she hired a nutritionist, suzzane to help her diet and it worked, but portia began changing her diet to only 1,000 calories to speed her weight loss instead of the healthy 1,400. she kept a false diary to give to suzanne and a real diary to count her calories. when she felt that wasn’t enough, she began to lower her calorie intake to 800, to 400 and finally 300. she went from 130 to 110 to 105. every day she would keep index cards and work on losing 1-3 pounds until she was 105, a good weight. she was able to fit in a size six and was the envy of other models, but she still felt it wasn’t enough. she began to work out on the treadmill often counting her portions of food, afraid of even chewing gum would put 60 calories on her. she went to 95 pounds to 82 pounds and was quite happy with herself when she could fit into a size two. suzanne was worried about her and gave her a book called “The Beauty Myth” in which explains the myths of beauty for girls, but portia only thought she was fat. when her best friend sasha rejected her b/c she found out portia was gay (only portia’s mom knew and told portia not to tell anyone for fear of ruining her career), portia was even more in despair. anyway, suzanne called portia’s mom and told her about it. anyway, portia’s brother was also worried about her and followed her to her gym one day and when she was finished with her workout. her brother broke down and said “portia, you have to stop. you’re too thin. you’re going to die.” portia broke down, not b/c of her brother’s words, but b/c she cared about her brother so she lied and said she would gain weight, but she continued in the same way. portia would look at herself in the mirror and would think “sometimes i saw a young girl without curves or a young boy without his manhood that he would always have to measure, but i felt content to be at 82.” anyway, portia ended collapsing when she was in the middle of a scene production of ally mcbeal where she was taken to the hospital and the doctor said her electrolyte levels were low and her organs were in danger of failing and that she had lupus. the doctor prescribed portia with a diet and told her to rest for a while. while resting, the voice in her head kept telling her “get on the treadmill. you’re fat.” she was arguing with the voice saying “i can’t i’m sick. i have lupus.” the voice said “you are nothing but a pathetic loser, you were never a model.” portia told the voice “go to hell.” the silence in her head brought her relief and she realized that it was over, that it was done she would accept herself.
anyway, while modeling, portia also had doubts about herself such as her acne and when she went to a support group to help her accept herself, she told them she didn’t like anything about herself. there were times when portia didn’t want to model b/c she didn’t like the constant pressure of being beautiful and skinny. at first, she was bingeing and then she decided to get a nutritionist and anorexia crept up on her. yet she was able to recover fully. she also met ellen degeneres who loved her just as she was. after she gained her weight back to 130 again, she realized she didn’t care anymore about her weight.
like portia, i like acting and i don’t like being a model at all. i would have gone for the lawyer job if i was her in the book. portia says the one thing she hates about being an actor is that there is no privacy from photographers which is why i don’t want to be an actor. i think portia only wanted to feel accepted and be perfect that is why she decided to go for acting and modeling. she had been entranced at the way actors and actresses seem to catch the people’s eyes. also she wanted to be appreciated and be more than average. when she was young, her name was amanda rogers and there was another girl on her track team that was also amanda rogers and portia (formerly amanda) made third place. she could have made second, but she thought it was weird that there would be an amanda rogers one in first and the other in second, so she made third instead. she didn’t like her name b/c she felt it was too average and too normal. this book reminds me of the song by meghan trainor called “All about that bass” in which it says ‘i see the magazines, working the photoshop we know that ain’t real make it stop. every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top.” the song talks about appreciating yourself for who you are and not what you look like, true beauty is on the inside not outside. it also says “i won’t be no stick figure or silicone barbie doll, if that’s what you’re into go ahead and move along.” portia also found hard to tell her brother she was gay even though she trusted him with many things, but when she told him, he still cared about her. also i think since beauty can be seen is why people like models, but intelligence and the inner spirit is felt with the heart. i like people who have an inner confidence and an inner beauty that makes them courageous through aspects of life. true courage isn’t about showing of your talents, it’s about being able to be strong whatever life throws at you. true inner beauty is when you are happy just being yourself and radiate the confidence.August 27, 2016 at 6:06 pm #113463AnonymousGuestDear Shirley, Earth Angel:
I had trouble myself understanding the many phases of glycolysis. I still don’t understand how anyone can master it. I am limited that way, lost in details that are too many for me. What I find helpful is almost to… meditate when studying such detailed many step processes. Take in this and that detail with a deep breath. Avoid panicking at the sheer volume of detail. Study it calmly. When overwhelmed, take a break and come back to it later.
Regarding Portia de Rossi’s book “Unbearable Loss and Gain” – it is a shame that so many of us, famous and not despise the way we look. It is only recently that I am coming to terms with how I look. Funny, I was so young and pretty, looking back, and I didn’t like the way I looked. I wish I did.
Portia’s inner bully sounds just like an… inner bully.
learning your limitations, you find a way to get around those. For example, studying so many details is difficult for me. Helpful to me is to be as calm as I can be studying (no “help” from the inner bully, please!), taking breaks, taking organized, colorful notes. So no bullying when something is difficult. Instead: calm, laid back like and find a way, gently and patiently.
anita
August 28, 2016 at 6:27 pm #113540JanusParticipantThanks for your advice anita;) i find that when i am overwhelmed with my thoughts, i turn on the music and i dance and i laugh and feel better. sometimes i wait for a week and write down the things i know about the topic and leave it there for a while and later i tackle it and i find that it is easier and i understand it better. i might not understand it perfectly, but i understand the topic enough to make connections to my own life, that’s what i love about science. i think in our teen years, we are still struggling between child and adult not sure of our place in the world. that is why i find myself easily given in to peer pressure. yey, i know what i believe inside and what i want, but sometimes its hard. my inner bully has been telling me “why are you trying so hard? you’ve got nothing to prove.” i’ve been fighting it by having a strong will and saying “i have everything to prove and i will do my best with whatever it takes.” being in ap classes and also being a decent athlete has put me into much competition with some of my peers. some think i can’t be an athlete and do well in school. some of the athletes are very condescending toward me b/c they think “i am wasting my time in knowledge being a geek.” they think i should spend all my time in sports.
August 29, 2016 at 4:03 pm #113674AnonymousGuestDear Shirley, Earth Angel:
I missed your latest post- would have answered earlier.
You wrote: “in our teen years, we are still struggling between child and adult not sure of our place in the world”- I don’t know if I personally know a single adult who is sure of his/ her place in the world. I am getting more of an idea about my place, but this is recent and following lots of healing.
Be flexible. The question a child is often asked (or used to be asked): “What do you want to do when you grow up?” suggests inflexibility, as if there is a permanent role or “place in the world” that an adult receives or has to find, or locate at a certain age. No such thing. Many remain in a career for decades, follow the same line of work or advance in the same career. But many people do not. And those who do, often do so feeling stuck, motivated by benefits of having seniority at work and having to pay bills.
No magical … placement happens to adults and no such thing, in my opinion, needs to be located. You aim at something, evaluate if this is something you can do and still want to do, over time. You don’t have to be this or that. Shake of rigidity of thinking and objective setting, allowing for flexibility.
It is this flexibility necessary for the laid back attitude you want to have, isn’t it?
anita
August 30, 2016 at 2:13 pm #113744JanusParticipantI agree that most people don’t have a specifically designed career for them. people’s interest change from time to time and also the economy also changes. i have been doing ‘achieving my goals’ meditation and i find it has helped a lot. the guided meditations take you into a trance where you release anything negative that has been holding you back either from other people or by yourself. i often find myself calmer and more focused on my goals without having to wrestle with an inner bully. mercury turns retrograde today and there is a solar eclipse 9/1. i love the universe and the surprises never end:D there are no words to describe the beauty of the universe and nature. i think on my free time from being a molecular biologist, i will be out in nature studying environmental things and also studying astronomy. science has some stuff that corrupts such as the changing genes of children to make children perfect in parents’ eyes, but on the bright side, a child with a disease gene can be changed. so there is always a positive and negative side. i also find that i like spending time with adults and the elderly more than teenagers b/c the adults are more mature and the elderly teach me about the importance of life. volunteering at nursing homes and helping the elderly with a craft makes me realize that the simplest things in life are often the most meaningful and shouldn’t be taken for granted. just to see the sun rise in the morning and having people there to care for you is great. some of the hurtful bullying that i’ve received has mostly been from teens. some of the girls don’t like that i enjoy sports, some of the guys don’t think i’m athletic enough. i remember one of the hurtful comments one teen said to me “you could be a great athlete if you only worked out harder and didn’t have your head in the books.” i tend to balance both athletics and academics and i do it pretty well, but my main goal is to go for academics.
August 30, 2016 at 7:37 pm #113790AnonymousGuestDear Shirley, Earth Angel:
Lots of teenagers are bullies, unfortunately. Lots of teenagers get bullied by other teenagers, it is a national problem, a global problem. What a shame. There is no lack in adult bullies, only maybe those are more specific in their targets: lots of parents bully their children, convenient, easy target but are very nice to neighbors and strangers/ other adults.
Back to teenagers, when bullied or criticized, be as calm as you can be and assert yourself with the bully- do not roll over, do not submit to bullies, or to anyone. If you feel stunned and speechless, say something like: I don’t like what you just said. Say it confidently, looking the person in the eyes.
You wrote: “the simplest things in life are often the most meaningful” and I whole heartedly and whole mindedly agree.
Seven more days, I think, and there will Shirley attend the first day of the last year of high school, confident and determined to patiently make progress academically, athletically, socially.
anita
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