“I’m really excited for my next article. I’m going to be very critical of myself.” I said.

“Don’t you see the irony in this? You’re being critical of yourself when you’re telling people not to be so critical,” rebuked Lauren.

Self-applied pressure gets in the way of your sense of accomplishment, ability to be grateful, productivity, and overall happiness. You can apply a healthy amount of pressure to push you to be better and to motivate you to accomplish tasks that are normally outside of your comfort zone. However, as Mark Twain wisely said, “All things in moderation, including moderation.”

“I’m too hard on myself.”

The past is the past. Today’s decisions are the only parts of life that you control. Yeah, if I read all of those books in high school and college, I would probably be more knowledgeable. If I did at least 100 crunches a day for the last ten years, my Buddha belly wouldn’t exist. Why fret about these things? Stressing about how you can be better, how you wish you had made different decisions, or how you aren’t doing enough can decrease your productivity and negatively affect your happiness. Continue Reading