Hi Sarah,

Another good thread!

I don't know how to beat the negative mind babble but I will say that if I do something practical and I know it's good, I'm not going to give that away to the first critic who comes along.

Something I have noticed is that criticism is often a sign that the person doing the criticising lacks confidence in themselves. That's why they tend to criticise others so easily. Unfortunately, we also tend to criticise ourselves, and as you rightly say, Sarah, it is because we lack confidence in ourselves.

So, my mantra is that I try not to criticise other people, I give them some encouragement instead. Once I get used to the encouraging voice coming from inside me, then I start to notice how unhelpful the critical voices are.

So now when I hear the critical voice, from someone else or from inside myself, I can have a look at where it's coming from, and it's usually coming form that old 'pool of negativity' yet again.

Looking back at all the people who have helped and motivated me over the years, do I think fondly of the critics? No, those types just knocked me back, the people I remember with fondness and love were the encouraging people.

If we could learn how to encourage ourselves, just think how much better our lives could be. 'Encourage' - to give others and ourselves courage - it's worth it's weight in gold.

Cheers, and keep up the good work, Myzen