I was an extreme critic of myself. This led me to stress, anxiety and panic attacks. So many emotions, painful emotions, that were a hurdle for me. Self-criticism gets more intense when it starts to cycle over and over and over. Then I realized that self-criticism wasn’t the problem. It was getting stuck in self-criticism that hurt me.
It can or does hurt you also.
In 2008, I found a tool that I use to this day. It has transformed my life. I started gratitude journaling. I wrote 3 gratitude entries daily. Here’s an example: Back in the day, my husband and I lived paycheck to paycheck. I started journaling and one of my gratitude entries was “I am grateful I have $20 to pay my water bill.” The actual bill was $80. $20 was better than nothing. I found/find gratitude in the small things. In this gratitude journal, I also journal about myself. For example,
- I am so grateful I’ve walked outside three weeks now.
- I am so grateful I was patient with my daughter while helping her with her homework tonight.
If you need any guidance on this, go ahead and reach out to me. Kris@krisrudarmel.com