You are your own worst critic

How do you feel about your life?

For me, if I’m being honest about it, I’ve been pretty hard on myself lately—especially when it comes to my career.

Being a freelancer, I either feel like I’m doing too much, not doing enough, not doing enough of the right jobs, not making enough money, etc.

Basically: I’m not enough.

I sometimes think “I should just get a regular full-time job again.”

Sure, I never had a full-time job that was fulfilling. But it was stable, and I left work at work. I never went home thinking, “I should have done more.”

But last week I caught a glimpse of my life from the outside.

My husband was talking on the phone to his dad, and he was talking about my career.

“Yeah, she’s doing great,” he said. “She’s always getting new clients and taking on new projects. Her clients love her and refer her to other people. She started with no experience and built it all from the ground up.”

“Hm,” I thought. “That’s all true. And it sounds pretty great.”

Later on, I was telling my husband about my day. I told him about taking some tests for a potential new client. The tests were kind of exhausting and not a lot of fun. And as I was doing them, I was just hoping it wasn’t going to be a big waste of time.

But then my husband said, “Your job is so cool. You’re always doing these exciting new things.”

“Hm. I guess that is true.”

So—my point is this: When you’re beating yourself up, take an objective look at your life. If you didn’t know you, what would you think about you?

If you’re having trouble, think back to those past winning compliments you’ve received. (As I wrote about previously, mine was a client who said, “It’s so hard to find great writers. And you’re a great writer.”) Cherish those compliments and refer to them often!

Let’s all treat ourselves a little bit more like we treat our friends and loved ones—with kindness, love and compassion.