The Relationship Between Self Criticism and the Prefrontal Cortex

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We are more attuned to our own behavior for survival, a lot less than the behavior of others. We rarely level that same amount or severity of criticism against others. There's actually a very rational scientific explanation behind why this may be. Some researchers have proposed that we use different areas of our brain for judging others and judging ourselves.

So often in life, we are our own worst enemies. The meanest and loudest voice in our head is our own. So why are we so hard on ourselves? In this episode we break down the psychological underpinnings behind our inner critic, from the proposed evolutionary role of negative self talk, to the influence of our upbringing including the distinction between conditional and unconditional positive regard, parental expectations and childhood bullying. We examine how social comparison and overthinking can contribute to a poor self perception but, also, how we can adopt the methods of radical self compassion and cognitive diffusion to silence that inner voice and be free from self judgement. Listen now!

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Harvard Business Review article: https://hbr.org/2021/05/stop-being-so-hard-on-yourself

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