The difference between self-awareness or self-criticism will show up as a core positive, or a core negative assessment. The self talk they represent can set you on a positive or negative spiral.
Are you self-aware, or self-critical? One can open the door to growth, improvement, and understanding, while the other can weigh you down with an endless loop of negative thoughts.
As this article describes it, honest self-awareness is key to growing and improving.
Take full stock of ourselves, our beliefs, our gifts, our talents, our challenges, our flaws, everything. By really looking at ourselves, we can then decide what we do and do not like about ourselves. From a place of self-awareness, we can determine what is helping us to accomplish our goals and what is limiting us. That’s being self-aware.
Self-criticism, on the other hand, has the opposite effect.
Self-criticism looks very similar. We are taking inventory of ourselves and assigning positive and negative labels to those traits we find within. The difference comes in the form of the attitude we use while doing so. If we are judging the various attributes, especially from a harsh light, then we are being critical rather than simply being aware.
Self-criticism isn’t about looking at reality and looking for ways to positively grow, it’s looking at yourself, finding the flaws, and reinforcing the message, “You’re not good enough.”
And so often, we mistake self-criticism for self-awareness.
Next time you catch yourself picking apart what you did wrong, what you could have done better, what you need to do differently next time, etc., ask yourself, “Is this coming from a perspective of awareness or criticism? Growth or self-loathing? What is my attitude as I take a look at these things?”
