I think there's a tendency for overachievers to see self-compassion as "going easy" on yourself.
However, it's very useful to recognize that self-criticism is the _emotional_ self giving feedback, rather than the _logical_ self. Obviously, this is the worst self to receive feedback from!
I think once you can reconceptualize this, you see self-criticism as the dark half of constructive feedback. You can practice self-compassion, yet still independently recognize that you can logically focus on improvement (without the emotional criticism).
> self-criticism is the _emotional_ self giving feedback, rather than the _logical_ self. Obviously, this is the worst self to receive feedback from!
IMHO that's a very unhealthy perspective. Your emotional self is just as important, healthy, and useful as your intellectual side. They are both essential; try to operate using one without the other and you will be crippled.
Exactly, the situation for us humans is that emotions are based on our perception of reality, and this perception might be (or, most likely, is) tainted. Lesswrong has some articles on emotions, which were very enlightening to me btw. Emotion is important to listen to! But instead of taking the easy way out of an emotion, like giving in to rage and hitting someone, or running away from a painful situation, we can stop to reflect what view of the world causes this emotion, and find a more rational way to find a more constructive way to deal with the problem at hand. That’s btw exactly what cognitive behavioral therapy is about. The hard part is to stop in your tracks and recognize situations that pull „the trigger“ for you.
However, it's very useful to recognize that self-criticism is the _emotional_ self giving feedback, rather than the _logical_ self. Obviously, this is the worst self to receive feedback from!
I think once you can reconceptualize this, you see self-criticism as the dark half of constructive feedback. You can practice self-compassion, yet still independently recognize that you can logically focus on improvement (without the emotional criticism).