I think my own inner critic is a combination of things. It's internalized criticism from various other people when I felt vulnerable already; it's the voice of my own self-directed frustration when I honestly don't live up to my own expectations; part of it is an inner voice prompting me to try harder, but distorted by the other two things. A lot of it probably is learned. Growing up, I met many serious, driven people who were hard on themselves in various ways and expected life would demand it - maybe that was their own early life experience.

Good idea for a thread.