Self Criticism Quotes

“We are all failures- at least the best of us are.”
― J.M. Barrie

“Put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it."

(Casual Chance, 1964)”
― Colette

“Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.”
― LOUISE L. HAY, You Can Heal Your Life

“The biggest enemies of willpower: temptation, self-criticism, and stress. (...) these three skills —self-awareness, self-care, and remembering what matter most— are the foundation for self-control.”
― Kelly McGonigal, The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It

“You've been criticising yourself for years and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.”
― Louise Hay

“A modern philosopher who has never once suspected himself of being a charlatan must be such a shallow mind that his work is probably not worth reading.”
― Leszek Kolakowski, Metaphysical Horror

“We are never so much disposed to quarrel with others as when we are dissatisfied with ourselves.”
― William Hazlitt, Characteristics: In the Manner of Rochefoucault's Maxims

“Stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don't belong. You will always find it because you've made that your mission. Stop scouring people's faces for evidence that you're not enough. You will always find it because you've made that your goal. True belonging and self-worth are not goods; we don't negotiate their value with the world. The truth about who we are lives in our hearts. Our call to courage is to protect our wild heart against constant evaluation, especially our own. No one belongs here more than you.”
― Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone

“You know that sickening feeling of inadequacy and over-exposure you feel when you look upon your own empurpled prose? Relax into the awareness that this ghastly sensation will never, ever leave you, no matter how successful and publicly lauded you become. It is intrinsic to the real business of writing and should be cherished.”
― Will Self

“Inside Critics

The critical voices in our own heads are far more vicious than what we might hear from the outside. Our "inside critics" have intimate knowledge of us and can zero in on our weakest spots.

You might be told by the critics that you're too fat, too old, too young, not intelligent enough, a quitter, not logical, prone to try too many things...
It's all balderdash!

Some elements of these may be true, and it's completely up to you how they affect you. Inside critics are really just trying to protect you. You can:

Learn to dialogue with them.
Give them new jobs.
Turn them into allies.
You can also dismantle/exterminate them.”
― Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy (SARK), A Creative Companion: How to Free Your Creative Spirit

“In life, most of us are highly skilled at suppressing action. All the improvisation teacher has to do is to reverse this skill and he creates very ‘gifted’ improvisers. Bad improvisers block action, often with a high degree of skill. Good improvisers develop action.”
― Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

“Writers are often the worst judges of what they have written.”
― Stephen King, Everything's Eventual

“In the inner courtroom of my mind, mine is the only judgment that counts.”
― Nathaniel Branden, Six Pillars of Self-Esteem

“Don't panic. Midway through writing a novel, I have regularly experienced moments of bowel-curdling terror, as I contemplate the drivel on the screen before me and see beyond it, in quick succession, the derisive reviews, the friends' embarrassment, the failing career, the dwindling income, the repossessed house, the divorce . . . Working doggedly on through crises like these, however, has always got me there in the end. Leaving the desk for a while can help. Talking the problem through can help me recall what I was trying to achieve before I got stuck. Going for a long walk almost always gets me thinking about my manuscript in a slightly new way. And if all else fails, there's prayer. St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers, has often helped me out in a crisis. If you want to spread your net more widely, you could try appealing to Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, too.”
― Sarah Waters

“I'm not saying the plot doesn't have holes.”
― Vernon D. Burns

“Racist” and “antiracist” are like peelable name tags that are placed and replaced based on what someone is doing or not doing, supporting or expressing in each moment. These are not permanent tattoos. No one becomes a racist or antiracist. We can only strive to be one or the other. We can unknowingly strive to be a racist. We can knowingly strive to be an antiracist. Like fighting an addiction, being an antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination.”
― Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist

“I thought if only I had a keen, shapely bone structure to my face or could discuss politics shrewdly or was a famous writer Constantin might find me interesting enough to sleep with.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

“Criticizing Yourself = Stress = Reduced Sexual Pleasure”
― Emily Nagoski, Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life

“When you get right down to it, self-criticism is yet another form of stress... Literally, our stress hormone levels increase.”
― Emily Nagoski, Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life

“The solution is to practice replacing self-criticism with self-kindness.”
― Emily Nagoski, Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life

“Self-criticism is associated with worse health outcomes, both mental and physical, and more loneliness.”
― Emily Nagoski, Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life

“Sometimes people resist letting go of self-criticism--"I suck!"--because it can feel like giving up hope that you could become a better person, but that's the opposite of how it works. How it really works is that when you stop beating yourself up, you begin to heal, and then you grow like never before.”
― Emily Nagoski, Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life

“Right conscience must always be your best friend of influence: tied closer than even the yes-men who can send ruin.”
― Criss Jami

“Die Selbstkritik hat viel für sich.
Gesetzt den Fall, ich tadle mich;
So hab' ich erstens den Gewinn,
Daß ich so hübsch bescheiden bin;
Zum zweiten denken sich die Leut,
Der Mann ist lauter Redlichkeit;
Auch schnapp' ich drittens diesen Bissen
Vorweg den andern Kritiküssen;
Und viertens hoff' ich außerdem
Auf Widerspruch, der mir genehm.
So kommt es denn zuletzt heraus,
Daß ich ein ganz famoses Haus.”
― Wilhelm Busch, Kritik des Herzens

“When I’m acting out of low self-worth, I can beat myself up for hours for a silly mistake. Or attack the other person, in order to smoke-screen my dissatisfaction with myself. Or I may become anxious about my memory, worried about what else may be slipping out of control. I react to the other person’s angry words, instead of just seeing the hunger or tiredness or anxiety behind them. I feel slighted or humiliated or resentful about the way I’ve been spoken to. In a hundred different ways, I re-experience my inner suspicion of being “less than” or “not enough.”
― John Niland, The Self-Worth Safari: Valuing Your Life and Your Work

“Being aware of this inner critic and its ability to limit you is an important part of silencing it.”
― HUMAIRA SYED, 55 Habits for Mindset Mastery: A Perfect Collection of Everyday Simple HABITS to Change Your Life Forever

“For all his arrogance, the opinions of his friends, his family, mattered deeply. None of them would ever chide him for his failure, but he'd punish himself for it.

Nesta brushed her fingers against Cassian's in silent understanding. HIs own curled against hers, meeting her stare as if to say, See? We're the same after all.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A ​Court of Silver Flames

“Refusing to be self-critical in order to solve conflicts enhances the power of the state.”
― Sarah Schulman, Conflict Is Not Abuse: Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility, and the Duty of Repair

“Я винен у складанні жахливих віршів, і вимордувані одинадцятискладові рядки рясніли «стиглими плачами», «розчахнутими небесами» та «кришталевими зорями».”
― Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, La plus secrète mémoire des hommes

“Some underachieving students may express persistent dissatisfaction with their grades, occasionally resigning to low grades with rebellious or on-and-off interest in improvement. Recognizing this dissatisfaction and addressing their self-critical tendencies are essential for fostering a positive learning environment.”
― Asuni LadyZeal