Understanding Your Self-Esteem and Inner Critic

Our self-esteem is crucial to our overall well-being. It fuels our self-worth and self-confidence and impacts how we view ourselves and how others perceive us. On the flip side, a low self-esteem can lead to negative self-talk, anxiety, and even depression.

In today’s fast-paced and competitive world, it’s more important than ever to understanding your self-esteem and learn how to silence our inner critic. In this blog, we’ll explore the definition and importance of self-esteem, the effects of low self-esteem, and how our inner critic can impact our lives.

What is self-esteem and its importance

Self-esteem refers to our sense of self-worth and how we view ourselves as individuals. It’s a crucial component of our emotional and mental well-being, as it helps us feel good about ourselves and boosts our confidence. Having a healthy self-esteem means that we believe in our abilities and have a positive attitude towards ourselves.

Examples of high self-esteem include feeling proud of our accomplishments, accepting compliments graciously, and displaying confidence in social situations.

What is low self-esteem

Low self-esteem, on the other hand, is characterised by negative self-talk, doubt, and lack of self-confidence. Studies show that individuals with low self-esteem are more prone to anxiety and depression and may struggle with forming healthy relationships. They may also have difficulty advocating for themselves, setting boundaries, and making decisions. It’s essential to recognise the signs of low self-esteem and take proactive steps to improve it.

What are the effects of low self-esteem

The effects of low self-esteem can be far-reaching and impact our personal and professional lives. It can lead to negative self-talk, feelings of worthlessness, and even self-sabotaging behaviours. In relationships, low self-esteem can lead to insecurity, jealousy, and difficulty with intimacy. In the workplace, it can lead to a lack of assertiveness, fear of rejection or failure, and difficulty accepting praise or criticism. Therefore, is important to have a better understanding of how low self-esteem and a constant inner critic negatively impacts your health, mind and life in the long run.

How self-esteem affects your day

Our self-esteem can impact our daily life in various ways. When we have a healthy self-esteem, we’re more likely to feel motivated, confident, and empowered. It helps us approach challenges with a positive mindset and tackle them with grace and resilience. However, when our self-esteem is low, we may feel defeated, hopeless, and unmotivated. We may shy away from opportunities and limit ourselves, leading to missed opportunities and unfulfilled potential.

What affects our self-esteem and how we view ourselves

Our self-esteem is shaped by both internal and external factors. Internal factors include our beliefs, values, and perceptions of ourselves. External factors include our upbringing, experiences, and relationships with others. Traumatic experiences, social comparison, and unrealistic expectations can all impact our self-esteem negatively. It’s essential to recognise these factors and take proactive steps to improve our self-esteem. To learn more on how to feel good, be relaxed and enjoy life by developing strong and healthier habits and boundaries click here.

What is inner critic and how is influencing your life

Our inner critic is a negative voice that resides within our minds, criticising and judging our every move. It can be destructive and lead to self-doubt, insecurity, and a lack of confidence. It’s crucial to recognize our inner critic and learn how to silence it to improve our self-esteem and overall well-being.

University of Oxford has conducted several studies on how inner critic is negatively influencing one’s life. Paul Gilbert: Constable & Robinson (2009) argues about the importance of knowing more about our inner critic, its influence and how to boost self-esteem with the practice of self-compassion. 

The findings show that the inner critic can lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. In a case study conducted by psychologists, participants who were asked to write about their positive qualities had increased self-esteem compared to participants who wrote about their negative qualities. Our inner critic can impact our lives negatively unless we learn to recognise and challenge negative self-talk and replace it with positive affirmations.

Are you criticising yourself daily? 

Here are two simple ways to identify your inner critic:

1. Identify negative self-talk patterns

2. Find how you feel about yourself

One way to identify if you’re criticising yourself daily is to pay attention to your negative self-talk patterns. Are you critical of yourself in certain situations or around certain people? Do you constantly focus on what you did wrong, rather than what you did right? Another way is to ask yourself how you feel about yourself. Do you have a positive or negative view of yourself? Do you feel confident or insecure?

For example, if you’re constantly telling yourself that you’re not good enough or that you’ll never succeed, this is negative self-talk that can lead to a low self-esteem. Another example is comparing yourself to others and feeling inferior, rather than focusing on your own strengths and accomplishments.

Want to know exactly how to do identify your inner critic, how is influencing your self-esteem and silence it, so you can feel good in your skin and enjoy life more? Learn more here.

Something to Remember,

Feel free to share this post with your friends, family and just anyone that might seek or need some inspiration, hope and guidance with their life. A better world starts with a little change and helping others smile, hope and enjoy their life more!

Let me know in the comments below what inspired you from this post and what more tips, techniques and strategies you would like me to share next.

Stay Blessed,

Emilia x

Award-Winning Author, Intuitive Mindset Coach and Creator of Take Action Now Program