A Mindful Perspective
Welcome to my podcast! I'm Nick Levesque, and I'm on a mission to help you navigate life's challenges with a mindful perspective. Join me every week as I dive deep into the realms of mindset, spirituality, and personal growth. Drawing from my own experiences, I want to provide you with tools, strategies, insights, and inspiring stories that will help you go from where you are now, to where you want to be.
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A Mindful Perspective
The Double-Edged Sword of Self-Awareness: When Insight Turns into Self-Criticism
What if self-awareness could be both your greatest strength and your worst enemy? Today, we unravel this intricate paradox on A Mindful Perspective. I kick off by sharing my own story of self-discovery—how it opened doors to understanding and growth but also trapped me in a cycle of self-doubt and overthinking. This episode promises to teach you how to harness the power of self-awareness without falling into the pitfalls of self-criticism.
We dive deep into the roots of excessive self-awareness, examining how past trauma, cultural pressures, and perfectionism can turn this valuable trait into a burden. By recognizing the signs of harmful over-analysis and understanding the impact of societal and childhood influences, we pave the way for healthier self-evaluation. Imagine a life where your self-awareness enhances your well-being rather than detracts from it—this chapter offers insights on how to strike that essential balance.
Finally, we equip you with practical strategies to manage self-criticism and foster self-compassion. From mindfulness practices to the importance of seeking support, we explore methods to maintain your path of self-improvement without feeling broken. You'll learn how to approach your journey with curiosity and kindness through different scenarios and actionable tips for shifting focus from "why" to "what" questions. Join us and transform your self-awareness from a double-edged sword into a tool for lasting personal growth.
Hello everyone and welcome to A Mindful Perspective. I'm your host, nick Levesque, certified Spiritual Life Coach, and I'm here to share insights into my journey of mindfulness and self-discovery. Each week, we'll explore mindset, spirituality and personal growth to help you navigate life's challenges, with practical strategies and inspiring stories. Let's dive in. Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of the Mindful Perspective. So, just before we jump in today, I just want to say thank you to everyone who's been supporting the show and all the kind messages. I do always appreciate it and if you're enjoying the show, please leave a rating or review, or even share the podcast if you want. It really helps the show get more visibility and help more people as well, right, which is really the end goal of this. So in today's episode, I wanted us to talk about self-awareness, but I wanted us to talk about the other side of self-awareness and how self-awareness can be a double-edged sword. Okay, because sometimes we become so self-aware that we actually become very self-conscious or even self-critical right, a lot of self-criticism, and I feel like self-awareness is something that we talk about a lot I know I do personally myself right, because it is such an important topic. However, I think that the other side of self-awareness is not talked about enough, and that's really what I want to dive into today's episode. So, first and foremost, let's just kind of recap what self-awareness is, right, I think everyone's got an idea of what self-awareness is, but self-awareness essentially is just we get to know ourselves better, right. We get to know different parts of ourselves. We get to know our thoughts, our behaviors, our feelings, our attitudes, etc. Right. So obviously, self-awareness is a very beautiful thing because we are developing that relationship with ourselves. It also has many benefits, right. Obviously, you know, we get a better understanding of our values, our beliefs, right. Our areas of life that may need improvement, right. Or even, we get rid of what's not working. We understand what's triggering us. We understand how to emotionally regulate ourselves, set boundaries all these different things, right. And of course, this is, you know, time spent in self-reflection, right. You don't learn all these things right away, but the more you start to understand yourself and who you are, this kind of all comes together. So it's almost like that mental fitness, if you will. Right. You start to really understand everything about yourself on a deeper level.
Speaker 1:However, there's another side of self-awareness that I wanted to talk about, and sometimes self-awareness can lead to self-criticism right, and this is what I mean. Sometimes being too self-aware can lead to self-criticism, or us being very self-conscious right, and this can lead to us being very paranoid right, about our environment, about ourselves. It can lead to a lot of overthinking, rumination and feelings of guilt and shame. Right, and there's other things as well associated with this. But this is just to kind of help paint the picture, and this happened to me personally a few years ago, and I want to share that story with you. But you know, this is something that's happened to a lot of other people that I've talked to on their own journeys. Right, is that we start to collect this information about ourselves? Right?
Speaker 1:So for me personally, this was a few years ago when, you know, I went through my own dark night of the soul, as you know if you've listened to the podcast, you know my story If you haven't. Basically, I was in a dark place and I started doing the work right, I started doing the inner work, the inner healing, and just going through my own soul searching journey. But, as I was collecting more information about myself through different modalities right so, through therapy, through reading books, through podcasts, all these different things, right, at first it was super exciting. I was like, okay, wow, I'm starting to learn all these things about myself. This is amazing, right? These are the things that I need to work on. And then I started to realize, okay, well, maybe you know, in this situation here, I was the one who's jealous, right? Or maybe maybe I do have an anxious attachment style that I kind of need to dive deeper into, okay, or yeah, maybe this is still, you know, something that I need to work on from my past that I haven't resolved yet, right? Or yeah, Okay, I got triggered here, but, you know, maybe I shouldn't have been triggered there, right? So, all these different things, and then you start to get a better picture about yourself and you start developing that relationship with yourself.
Speaker 1:But this is where it can get very detrimental, right? Because now we've got all this information, but now we start to think there's something wrong with us, right? Like this is. You know, what happened to me personally and other people that I've talked to is like, okay, I'm reading the books, I'm doing the work, but then the more I read, or the more podcasts I listen to, the more it's making me reflect and the more it's making me realize that, you know, maybe there's something wrong with me here or maybe there shit that I need to work on right. So it's like it.
Speaker 1:You know, as good as it is to understand everything, it can also backfire and lead you to be so self aware that you become again self conscious or self critical. And this is where kind of the paradox kicks in. Right, it's because we get so self aware that we get a better understanding of ourselves, but then we get so self aware that we we get a better understanding of ourselves, but then we get so self-aware that we start to wonder like if, hmm, all these different things are wrong with me. So now I need to work on these things, I need to fix myself. So it becomes kind of this like this never ending pursuit, because our mind will always find, quote, unquote, other things that are wrong with us, right? So now we start to, you know, overthink, we start to overanalyze situations and also, again, like I was talking about, the paradox is we become so self aware, but then we're not aware of how it's impacting our lives, or if we are, then we're kind of stuck. But for a lot of like for myself personally, I remember where, you know, I started to become so self-aware of all that was wrong with me, but I wasn't aware of how it was impacting my life, right? So this is what I'm talking about, where self-awareness can get very detrimental if we're not using it properly, right?
Speaker 1:So, again, cons of self-awareness, right? Isolation. It can lead us to isolate, because we think there's something wrong with us and we need to fix everything, right? So because of that, sometimes we won't enter a relationship, because we feel like we need to be fully healed. It's like, oh no, I can't bring all my baggage to someone, right? But, like you know, it's not about being fully healed, it's about understanding where you're at and also just doing the work as you're progressing. But it doesn't mean you need to stop dating someone, right? Or we can get all these feelings of guilt and shame and worthlessness is because, like, oh, you know, I shouldn't have all these problems right Now. I'm learning so much about myself and I feel like I'm like, I'm completely broken, right? Then you start to question yourself and believe that you're a bad person. It's like, wow, I've got all these things wrong with me, right, like? And then you start to doubt your own abilities, your own strengths, all these different things. So this is what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:This is why I think it's so important to talk about this other side of self-awareness. Right, and typically there are two types of self-awareness. There is internal self-awareness, where that refers to us right, so we get a better understanding of ourselves in a relationship with ourselves. Right, so we better understand our thoughts, our feelings, our attitudes and our behaviors, right, so basically, how we show up in the world and how, you know, we get more in tune with our internal state, as it is right. But then there's also the external self-awareness, meaning that we understand or have an understanding, where we know what others think about us and how others perceive us.
Speaker 1:Right, but again, this is what I'm saying how this can get so detrimental is when we become too self-aware and we don't know how to approach our you know, self-discovery journey, in our healing journey, we become so self-aware that not only are we worried about our internal state of affairs, but we're also worried about what other people are thinking and how other people perceive us, right, so now we start to get very worried, in whatever setting it may be, right, so maybe you're having a conversation with someone and then you're super self-conscious, right, like, oh, I hope they didn't notice what I just said there, or whatever. And then you start to get in your own head and you're so self-conscious and you're so self-aware that you start to become anxious or even hypervigilant, where you're scanning everything around you like everything's a threat. As an example, right, and of course that's not the case, but this is what I'm saying. Right, self-awareness is a huge topic and there's two types, right? Internal and external. When we don't know how to approach understanding ourselves and just the world around us, we can become extremely self-critical and this can become very detrimental. Right, this can actually become or come to a point where it's impacting our mental health. Right, because now we think that there's all these things wrong with us. We are trying to chase all these different solutions, these different modalities to try to heal us, but we need to understand in the first place, that there's absolutely nothing wrong with us, and even though there are things that we need to work on, as an example, this is why, in almost every episode, I keep saying approach your journey of self-discovery, self-reflection and self-awareness with curiosity, compassion and kindness. Right, because if you don't, this will lead to self-criticism and being very self-conscious. So let's talk about a few things that can lead us to becoming too self-aware, right? So, obviously, as we're going through our journey and learning more about ourselves, right.
Speaker 1:So some possible factors there are many, right. So one could be past trauma. So, as an example, maybe due to your past experiences or, you know, whatever happened, perhaps in your childhood or a specific event in your life. Okay, sometimes this can make people hypervigilant, right, and overly self-aware. They're kind of scanning everything. They think everything is kind of a threat, right, so they may constantly monitor themselves to avoid repeating something that they did in the past. Right, to prevent criticism from other people. So, as an example, maybe a child who was constantly criticized, right, might grow up to be extremely self-conscious, right, they're always second guessing their actions and they fear judgments from others because they were criticized so much in their childhood. So that's just an example.
Speaker 1:It could also be cultural or societal pressures as well, right, a person might feel kind of this pressure to, you know, present themselves as a flawless image, right, maybe on social media or whatever, right so it doesn't matter where, but that can cause someone to become overly self-conscious about their appearance, their actions and all these different things and always needing to make sure that they're showing up perfectly as an example. So now they start to become so self-aware about everything that they do that it starts to lead to negative self-talk and, just honestly, a poor way of life. To be quite honest, perfectionism is another one of these where people with perfectionistic tendencies sometimes they'll often set these unrealistically high standards for themselves. I know personally I've done that in my life and we become so self-aware, right, honestly, we become so overly self-aware because we're constantly evaluating our actions right Against our expectations. So we set this expectation for ourself and then you know we're not quote unquote, meaning up to it, right, so that leads to feelings of inadequacy and self-criticism. Right, because then you know we're constantly monitoring, right, so, as an example, maybe in your work you're constantly monitoring every detail, everything that you're doing, right, you become so hyper aware and then you start to criticize yourself because, again, you did one small mistake, as an example, right, but you're so aware of that mistake and it's like nothing else matters, right, all the good things that you did don't matter. It's just really because you're stuck in that perfectionistic tendency. Now, these are just a few examples of potential causes of excessive self-awareness. Right, again, there are many more. It could be fear of judgment or rejection. It could be comparison with others, social anxiety, all these different things, right. But now I want us to dive into how to recognize if your self-awareness is actually leading to self-criticism and what we can do about it.
Speaker 1:So step number one is to recognize the signs of excessive self-awareness. Now, this is a bit ironic, because we need to use self-awareness to understand how our self-awareness is being detrimental in our lives, right? But the first one, honestly, is constant self-monitoring, right, there's nothing wrong with monitoring yourself. So, as an example, something happens and you get triggered, right. Then it's very important to understand, okay, what caused me to be triggered, right, and understand where that's coming from and why that's impacting you. A trigger, in my personal opinion, is a gift. It's showing us a part of ourselves that is still bothered by something, right? So there's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 1:But if you're sitting at a table with your friends and you're having ice cream, as an example, and you're analyzing everything, right, you say something like, oh, I hope that didn't come out wrong, you know like, hmm, or oh, I hope that came out right. Or oh, you know, I hope that person doesn't take that the right way or the wrong way, and then you're analyzing your words, your actions, your thoughts, everything just overanalyzing that's a sign, right? Constant self-monitoring could be an excessive sign of self-awareness. It could be also overthinking, right. So you're constantly replaying conversations or events in your mind and you're often focusing on what you could have done differently, right? So this is something that happened to me many times in my life and I'm sure this will resonate with a lot of you as well.
Speaker 1:But you know, you come back home and you're like, oh, I shouldn't have said that, I shouldn't have done that. Maybe you went out on a date with someone. You're like, oh, my goodness, oh, that person's never gonna you know, never gonna message me again. They're not going to want to go on a second date. I shouldn't have said that. And you're overthinking the entire thing, right. And maybe you know what that person messages you and says that they really enjoyed the date and whatever. Right, you just cause yourself a bunch of anxiety for absolutely no reason. Okay, sometimes overthinking or thinking about something is good, but overthinking it constantly, over and over again, could be a sign, again, of excessive self-awareness, right.
Speaker 1:Frequent self-criticism this is another one. Obviously, this is a big one, right? You find yourself frequently criticizing or doubting yourself, right, your appearance, your decisions, right, your inner critic is really, you know, criticizing you about so many different things. Right, and again, the inner critic I've done a lot of different episodes on this as well, or I've talked about it in many different episodes the inner critic is a big part as well when we become so self-aware because, again, it's trying to keep us safe and it wants us to be safe. Right, so it's going to try to criticize us so we don't get hurt again, right, it's going to try to hurt us before anyone else can. Is what I'm trying to say, right? So, again, if you are someone who criticizes themselves a lot, it could be a sign that you're very self-aware, but not using it the right way.
Speaker 1:Again, it could be comparison with others, like we talked about earlier. You often compare yourself to other people and it usually leaves you feeling inadequate. Right, because comparison with others can be a good thing. Right, if you're comparing yourself with someone, you're like, hmm, wow, you know that person's made it so far as an example. Like, what are the different things that I could be doing to get to their level? As an example? Right, comparison can be a good thing. But if you're constantly comparing yourself to everyone out there, right, and then you're like, oh, you know, I'm never going to get there, I'm not good at this, you know. And then you start thinking about all the little things that you did wrong and all the different things that are, you know, going to stop you from going there.
Speaker 1:Again, it's your inner critic talking, right, and again this is a big sign of self-criticism as well. Okay, it could be, again, fear of judgment. We talked about that earlier. We worry excessively about what others think about us, so we avoid situations that we might be judged. So maybe you know you're, you know you're going on stage to do a presentation for public speaking and then you become so self-conscious, right, maybe during the presentation or after as well, you're like, oh, and then you start analyzing everything, right, like, oh, maybe I shouldn't have said this, maybe I was walking too much, walking too fast, all these different things. There's nothing wrong, again, with evaluating what you're doing, but there's a big difference between evaluating something and criticizing yourself over something, right, very big difference.
Speaker 1:Another quick sign could be that you have difficulty letting go, so you struggle to move on from mistakes or something right and you're constantly dwelling on something. So, again, you're so self-aware and you just can't let go of something, for whatever reason. It may be right and again, but true self-awareness is understanding that we have to let go. In my personal opinion, right, that's where self-awareness becomes so powerful, right, it's to understand that, hey, you know, maybe we did something, but it's over. Now we have to let go of that thing. Right, and letting go is, you know, sometimes it's very difficult, but in this circumstance I'm talking about, sometimes we do these little mistakes and we just it's almost like we just can't let go of that, right, and that's exactly what I mean.
Speaker 1:Step number two is curiosity over criticism. So this is so important and it's what I talk about in many of the episodes is when we're looking inward and getting to know ourselves, getting to know all the parts of ourselves. It's important to do so from a place of curiosity, kindness and compassion, right, because there are things that we're going to discover about ourselves that we don't necessarily like. There are things that we're going to discover about ourselves in our journey that might not resonate with how we perceive ourselves or the image that we have about ourselves, right? So, as an example, maybe, you know, let's just use a hypothetical scenario. Let's say there's this couple, right?
Speaker 1:Kim and Josh. So Kim is always accusing Josh of being very jealous. He's always jealous, jealous, right. Everything he does or says, whatever, kim perceives it as him being jealous, as an example, and josh is like I'm not jealous, I'm just saying something, or saying how I feel about something, all these different things. Okay, after a while they're arguing a lot.
Speaker 1:They decide to go to couples therapy as an example, right, and then you talk to the therapist and you know kim is okay with that, she's okay with doing that inner work and understanding where this is all coming from. And then you know, lo and behold, they understand or figure out that Jane is actually projecting her own insecurities onto her partner and she is not owning up to the jealousy that is within her right. But now it's hard for her to face that, right, her jealousy was something in your shadow and now it's coming up and she doesn't like that, right, because, again, projecting, that's the big thing. Right, it's a protection mechanism, right, it's much easier to put the stuff on other people, put the blame on other people, so we don't have to deal with it or live with it. So this is what I'm saying, when you are going into this journey of self-discovery, it has to be with curiosity, compassion and kindness, right? Because in this scenario, let's say, kim says like, oh my God, like I'm the one who's broken here, I'm the one who's jealous. And then she starts getting very self-critical, very, you know, self-conscious, all these different things about herself. That's not going to help her overcome or work through this jealousy, right? It's like, instead, you take ownership, you take accountability and say like wow, okay, no-transcript.
Speaker 1:Ask what, not why? And again, I'm not saying asking why questions are a bad thing, but sometimes what questions can spark more curiosity? Right? Because there were studies done on this and a lot of people who were very self-aware, if you will, didn't use the question why, could almost victimize themselves, right? So it's like why is this happening to me? Right? Why am I jealous? Right? And again, there's nothing wrong with using these questions, right? But for some people, this led them into a spiral of negativity. As opposed to asking a question like hmm, you know what's causing me to be so jealous, right? So instead of saying why am I so jealous, you can say well, what is causing me to be so jealous, right? So instead of saying why am I so jealous? You can say, well, what is causing me to be so jealous, right? Or instead of saying, why is this happening to me, right? You could say, well, what is this trying to teach me as an example, right? So sometimes, switching those questions okay, switching from a why to a what and a what can be used in many different scenarios, but especially through self-reflection and developing our self-awareness. I think that what is a very, very powerful question, and, again, you can always use the question why, but just be of the understanding that sometimes the why can keep us kind of trapped, right? As opposed to the what is kind of looking for a solution and a way out.
Speaker 1:Tip number three is to shift your focus onto others. Okay, so, if you start to feel very self-conscious in a conversation, it's important to focus your attention on the other people by asking questions about them, okay? So let me give you an example Sometimes, especially with, like, something like social anxiety, right? So, this is something that, you know, I used to be very self-conscious about. So if I would go into a very social setting, whether it was a house, party or something, right? Again, this is where internal and external self-awareness comes in, Right?
Speaker 1:So, for me personally, I was always afraid of you know, okay, what, how other people perceive me, right? If someone looked at me a certain way, I was like, oh, my goodness, I was very aware and almost like again to to, or I was very hypervigilant, again to to, or I was very hypervigilant, right, I was like aware of how others were perceiving me. Or if they looked at me a certain way, I was like, oh, you know, did I do something wrong? Did I say something wrong? All these different things, right.
Speaker 1:And then sometimes you're, you're in a middle of a conversation with someone and then you start to think about everything, right, like they're talking to you. And then you start to think about something, right, like, oh, did, like, oh, did I say something wrong? Or oh, I hope he doesn't take that the wrong way. Or then you get lost, right, you get completely zoned into yourself that the other people around you don't even matter type of thing, right, and you're not doing this consciously. But again, the other person could kind of perceive that as kind of being a bit rude, right, because they're trying to talk to you about something and you're so self-conscious, you're so in your own bubble that you probably zoned out and missed half of what they're saying. And then you're like, can you repeat that as an example? Right, so this is something that's happened to me personally again in different house settings, et cetera. Right, because I was so worried about checking in with myself and how other people were perceiving me that I was actually not paying attention to the person in front of me or who I was talking to.
Speaker 1:So this is what I mean by shift your focus. Okay. So, as an example, if you're having this conversation with someone and you start, you feel like you're starting to become self, you know, self-conscious, like, oh, my goodness, right, and again, this takes practice because you're going to need to catch yourself in the act of doing this. But if you start to, you know, wonder, like, okay, I think this person is looking at me a certain way. Or you're having a conversation with someone, you're like, oh, I'm starting to internalize everything, shift your focus on them, ask questions about them. If you put the focus on them and actually have a genuine conversation with the person, you're not going to be focused on yourself or the environment around you, right, you're not going to be focused on what that other person is saying or how that person is looking at you, because you won't even notice that they're looking at you. So, again, this is what I mean Shift the focus onto the other person and give the person in front of you your full, undivided attention, and you can also do the same thing with yourself.
Speaker 1:So, if you find yourself to become very self critical or you're very anxious, and then you start thinking about all these different things Because anxiety can do that as well when we start to get very anxious, we start to overthink everything, we start to project into the future what if this, what if that, all these different things. Just try to catch yourself and then take a few deep breaths, right, taking a few deep breaths. Anchor your breath, go back to your breath. The breath is, honestly, you know, one of the most powerful tools that we can use. Right, you anchor yourself with your breath.
Speaker 1:Whereas other different mindfulness practices that you can use as an example, right, maybe you know, zone out for a second and just look around you. What can you see, what can you smell, what can you touch? Right, so many different practices, but again, sometimes it's just about re-centering yourself, right? And then you can, you know, either just walk away from the situation because, like, okay, like this is not worth my attention right now, because you know that there's actually nothing really wrong right now, or you're just overthinking. Or if there's something really bothering you, then you're a bit more grounded to understand what is going on and why you're feeling a certain way, or what may have caused you to feel a certain way. Right, regardless of just depending on the situation, is what I'm trying to talk about.
Speaker 1:So tip number three is to shift your focus. Tip number four is that you are not broken. Okay, just because there are things that you need to work through or heal does not mean that you're broken. You're not a project that needs to be fixed. You're not a vase that needs to be put back together. Okay, you're trying to make changes because you want to have a better quality of life for yourself, okay, and also a better quality of relationships as well.
Speaker 1:So if you've suffered, as an example, a lot of trauma in your childhood, right, what happened to you is not your fault. Right, understanding that is very important. It's not your fault. But at a certain point in life, it becomes our responsibility to heal what needs to be healed. Right, it becomes our responsibility to take ownership of our lives and set ourselves accountable to heal and work through what needs to be healed so that we do not unconsciously bleed on other people. Right? So that we do not carry our baggage into our relationships, whether that be romantic relationships or friendships or, you know, whatever it may be right With our children. All these different things, right? Generational trauma, all these different things.
Speaker 1:I'm a firm believer that, again, what's happened to you before is not your fault. But at a certain point in your adult life, it becomes your responsibility to heal and to work through the things that you need to work through right. But just because you have things that you need to work through does not mean that you are broken. You just want to have a better quality of life for yourself, and this can also be with behaviors as well. Okay.
Speaker 1:So maybe you're someone that wants to stop smoking Cigarettes is an example right. Or maybe you're someone that wants to change their diet and start exercising and having a better lifestyle right? So if you are going through this self-discovery journey and you start to become very self-aware and you're like, okay, you know, these are the things that I need to change, or these are the things that would make my life better. As an example, right, these are all parts of self-awareness, by the way, right, it's understanding and having that radically honest conversation with yourself about what is holding you back and what are the changes that needs to be made in your life. So, as an example, let's say that you're someone who you know maybe you've got some health problems and you need to make changes to your diet.
Speaker 1:Well, there's no point in bashing yourself over and over, being super self-critical about right. Again, it's important to take accountability and ownership for it. It's like okay, hey, I messed up here. I really need to clean my diet. Okay, how do I go about that? How do I go about making the changes? Right, that is, to me, what true self-awareness is. It's about recognizing what's holding you back, but also taking the steps and taking ownership of your life to make those changes right, because no one else is coming to save you. Right, but sitting there and bashing yourself over and over because of what you should have done or what you didn't do and all these different things, no, no, there's no point for that, right, no room for that. All you need to do, really and I know, obviously, and I know this is easier said than done, but at the end of the day, that's really what it is, right. It's about being aware of what's holding you back and then making the proper changes to do what needs to be changed, right? So maybe in this hypothetical scenario, maybe that person hires a nutritionist or hires, you know, a dietician whatever it may be, right, it doesn't really matter, but it's about taking the steps to live a better quality of life.
Speaker 1:Last but not least, tip number five is to seek support. Okay, so if excessive self-awareness and self-criticism are significantly impacting your life, right. It might generally be helpful to talk to a therapist or a coach who can guide you in helping you to understand where this is coming from and managing these tendencies right. Sometimes it's just about talking to someone you trust, right, sharing your thoughts with you know, a friend, a family member that can help you gain a different perspective. And you know just. You know, maybe someone who's walking through the same or going through the same situation or very similar situation Right.
Speaker 1:But again, if it is being a detriment in your life to a point where you're constantly anxious or you're constantly comparing yourself to others, or you're constantly internalizing yourself, right, and you know, assessing yourself and overanalyzing everything or how others perceive you, then that can be a problem.
Speaker 1:Right Again, it's very important to have an understanding of yourself and how others perceive you.
Speaker 1:There's nothing wrong with having feedback, but if we're constantly scared about everything right, about how we're showing up, how others are perceiving us, et cetera it's really not a way to live, and I can say personally I've been there myself right and again personally what has truly helped me in my life and this is why I keep saying it in every episode is to approach your journey with curiosity, because bashing yourself is not going to do anything. And remember, you are wanting to make changes because you want a better quality of life for yourself. So, that being said, that's all I've got for you guys on today's episode. If you did like the episode, please feel free to leave a comment or review, share it. It really helps bring awareness to what I'm trying to do, which is really kind of, you know, spread this podcast on a broader scale to really help people just navigate everyday life challenges. So again, with that being said, I hope you have a good week and I will catch you guys next week. Thank you.
