Los diseños y las imágenes en Canva.
Las fotografías en mi galería tomadas de mi teléfono Honor Magic6 y editadas en canva
Traducido con www.DeepL.com/Translator (versión gratuita)

In English

Greetings to everyone, friends of the #EmpowerTalent community, with the topic you bring us every week – especially our dear @angelica7 – inviting us to write about: “Don’t take anything personally”, an exercise to ask ourselves: Why do we sometimes think we’re the centre of everyone’s attention? Life turns out to be so simple and beautiful that perhaps we don’t need to be told what to do or how we are. We simply are, without complications. Here is my contribution:

Like so many others, I have often found myself experiencing a whirlwind of emotions when dealing with daily worries or stress, as well as feeling constant sadness or anger, just as many around us experience high levels of emotional negativity.

A very seductive negativity

The truth is that if you’re not very careful, it’s easy to become part of that negativity, to be absorbed by it and to become part of the chaos; for the danger lies in letting myself be carried away by a critical attitude, all the more so when it takes on the tone of a very seductive negativity.

So if my mind feeds on critical thoughts, if I take things personally, in areas of my life – whether at work (to the point of believing that we are rewarded for analysing, comparing, criticising and being negative), or even within the family – it is important to see what is wrong with a situation and what needs to be changed.

Seeking to transform this habit

Learning to see my own thought patterns clearly, and not to be overwhelmed by confusion and negativity, is the first step towards transforming them – one of the challenges I face as I journey along this path of life.

When I decide to take action and seek to transform this habit of my mind, it is not a matter of fighting against those thoughts, or punishing myself for being critical; rather, it is about having the capacity for reasoning to solve problems with a more constructive approach.

Criticism as a smokescreen

For example, if you feel that a situation or comment is a direct attack on you, you need to pause and ask: ‘Does this really have anything to do with me, or is it a reflection of the other person’s emotional state, stress or limitations?’ It has been proven that 99 per cent of the time, other people’s criticism says more about them than it does about you.

I believe that some people, whether at work or within the family, who trigger this mechanism of criticism with greater intensity do so because they are showing off and using it to cover up their own shortcomings.

When people experience deep insecurities, emotional voids or deficiencies that they do not know how to, or do not want to, deal with internally, they often use criticism of others as a shield or a smokescreen.

The mask of very fragile self-esteem

This behaviour serves as a temporary relief through comparison, as by pointing out and exaggerating the supposed flaws of others, the person attempts to place themselves in a position of supposed superiority. It is a childish way of thinking: “If the other person is flawed or inferior, then I am worth more”.

So it is much easier and less painful to focus on other people’s mistakes than to have the courage to look within and face up to one’s own limitations, frustrations or unresolved failures.

In any case, those who constantly need to boast about their achievements, possessions, or virtues are often acting out of a fear of not being enough; thus, exaggerated pride can act like a mask, concealing the insecurity of a very fragile self-esteem.

I mustn’t take anything personally

I must allow myself to understand that criticism from others (and often my own automatic self-criticism) stems from a shortcoming on the part of the other person; therefore, I mustn’t take anything personally.

The most important thing is to defuse the criticism, as I no longer take the comment as an absolute truth about my own worth, but rather as a reflection of the emotional state and limitations of the person making it.

I can even feel compassion for someone who needs to criticise in order to feel secure, whilst at the same time setting a healthy boundary so as not to let their toxicity affect my peace of mind.

And to you, dear reader, remember that unlearning a mental habit as deeply ingrained as criticism requires patience and self-compassion. Every time you manage to recognise this pattern in time, you’ll be making progress towards your own peace of mind.

If you’d like to take part and join this week’s edition of the competition, please click here.

The designs and images in canva
The pictures in my gallery taken from my Honor Magic6 phone and edited in canva
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)