The Evolutionary Purpose of Negative Self-Talk and Social Comparison

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Others opinions are important and have historically played a crucial role in social acceptance and protection.
Negative self-talk is believed to be an evolved behavior rooted in the brain's default mode network, which aimed to align individuals with group norms and ensure survival.
The default mode network is self-directed and critical, serving the purpose of keeping individuals in line with the group.
Social comparison plays a significant role in fueling our inner critic and insecurities.
Comparing oneself to others can lead to feelings of inadequacy and self-judgment.

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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