Answer honestly – do you fully accept yourself? Do you love yourself so much that you allow yourself to live the way you really want, and consider your shortcomings as undiscovered strengths? It is difficult for many to answer these questions in the affirmative, because there is often a critic inside who does not allow us to enjoy life and constantly insists that we are doing everything wrong. Inner critic - how to recognize it? Simple enough. Try paying attention to your thoughts. Are they evaluative in nature? Do you constantly compare yourself to others? Do you criticize your feelings, decisions, actions? Do you often scold yourself for something? If so, then most likely you have an eternally dissatisfied inner critic. What are the functions and tasks of this censor? At first glance, it may seem that he plays a good role in your life. After all, he criticizes you because he wants you to become better, to be closer and closer to the ideal. Maybe even, thanks to his pressure, you have reached some heights in life. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Very often, the inner critic creates quite a strong tension in us, which does not allow us to relax, stop, or enjoy what we already have. When the censor is especially firmly entrenched in our consciousness, we can ignore our fatigue, irritation, we can take on everything in a row and experience no joy either from the process or from the result. The inner critic is a very insatiable creature. No matter how we try to “feed” him with successes and achievements, he will continue to drive us forward, not allowing us to rest. What to do if you recognize its presence in yourself? Try to get to know him better. Listen to the voices in which the critic speaks to you. Perhaps you will recognize the voices of your parents, teachers, bosses and other people who are authoritative for you, who endlessly reproach you for something, scold you, and advise you on how to live better. Perhaps you will see images inspired by fashion, advertising, glossy magazines, showing you how to look, what to want, what to strive for. Try writing it all down on paper. And then carefully read what you get. Take a fresh look at your notes. Some things will seem outdated to you, not yours, appropriated. It is important to understand that all of these are the thoughts of your inner critic, which you at some point accepted as your own. Next, try to communicate with your restless censor. You can even draw it on paper. Ask him that from this day on he will stop criticizing you and imposing his vision and opinion. Thank your inner critic for its efforts to bring you closer to perfection. Tell him that you have the right to be imperfect, but maybe someday you will seek his advice. And also promise yourself that from now on you will try to follow your true desires and needs. In addition, do not be lazy to conduct one small experiment. Over the course of a month, praise yourself for any little things and find at least five new virtues in yourself every day. Maybe the inner critic won't leave your mind right away. This is normal, because it took time for him to settle there and it will take time for him to loosen his “reins”. But you have the power to monitor its manifestations, sometimes not give in to them and listen to yourself.