This is a topic from YOUTUBE. Reply as normal, and we will post it to the user on YouTube.
Belongs to: Therapist Reacts to THE POT by TOOL
I spend every work week being my own inner self-critic…questioning my abilities and worth at work. By the end of (most weeks) I’ve worked through those roadblocks and have gotten work done. Instinctively I know this is the best way to shut down that internal critic, but the struggle restarts every Monday!
Thank you for being so honest. I feel you. I struggle with the same feelings. It’s as if all you do isn’t enough and that you will never be able to make it enough. Those roadblocks pop up and leave you wallowing in self-doubt. I know how hard those can be. I’m so glad that you’ve found ways to work through them and get all of your weekly work done, and I pray that you will be able to learn how to more effectively shut down your inner critic when it rears it’s head. In moments where I feel defeated, I like to pause, even if only for a moment, take a deep breath, and reaffirm myself. You are doing a great job. I hope you continue to overpower that inner critic and find peace with yourself and your work. I wish you nothing but the best, and we are always here if you need us!
Yea… it’s such a vicious cycle that seems endless at times. Somehow, overcoming those roadblocks is extremely satisfying and relieving in the moment. It gives a sense of accomplishment. But then it also feels like you are stuck in a loop where the same obstacles occur over and over. In the end, it almost feels as if you are constantly trying to survive but can’t reach the core struggle. It makes me think of this image of applying a bandage on an open wound. It soothes and adds some layer of protection, until you have to change the bandage again. You realize that as long as there isn’t stitches made to help the wound heal, it continues on bleeding.
It is so hard to combat our inner critic, especially at work. I personally resonate to what you’ve shared here, as I associate way too much of my worth to what I do - the roadblocks that are overcome, the milestones reached, the projects accomplished. It’s like there’s a beast inside of you that keeps on feeding with what you do - and if you have nothing to offer to it it will growl even stronger. You do your best to tame it and quiet, but somehow taming it can’t be done through your accomplishments and tasks done, for these only justify its existence in the first place. Somehow, I believe that it is possible to learn to tame this monster by sitting with it, looking at its ugly face, and learning to befriend it. Just because it’s a part of our mind, and what it says often echoes parts of our stories when we’ve been wounded. Things we’ve learned or integrated about ourselves that are not right and don’t serve us in any way. It’s definitely hard to unlearn what has been a part of our life for a significant time, all the patterns that we’ve learned to be familiar with.
Something amazing in your post is that… you’re aware of the cycle. There were probably times in your life before when you were purely enduring it, when you were completely subjected to the narrative of your inner critic. But now you’re also OBSERVING it. You’re in an outside of this situation, and you are able to identify where the issue resides. It may not give immediate answers as to why it is present in your life, or how to overcome it, but it is already a HUGE strength to be aware of these patterns at play - especially when they essentially occur in our mind. From there, there is hope to start making different decisions, explore new pathways, and learn to give yourself as much grace and patience you’ve been needing along the way. 
Realizing your worth is not what you can accomplish, how well you do tasks, the approval you can gain from others, is one of the most important realizations one can have, but it is the most difficult to live out and internalize. It is so easy to place work as our source of value, we grade ourselves giving ourselves a sliding scale of success and value based on how we produce. However, this is a lie-- it is an utter lie that has been sold by people who benefit from our productivity. It is a lie we tell ourselves to replace meaning for our existing with meaning from production. However, it is true that if you never accomplished anything else in your entire life you would be worthy of love. Your life has meaning no matter what you do. I hope you can find peace from the inner critic and see how wonderful you are apart from anything you do-- but just WHO you are.