In our last conversation, we discussed how to distinguish between suffocating self-flagellation and useful self-analysis. Today, let’s look at how you can shift from a negative cycle of self-flagellation to positive, constructive self-analysis.

The first key point is to clearly recognize that you are engaging in self-digging. Pay particular attention to your feelings and emotions — if they feel heavy and oppressive, this can serve as an additional warning sign. Once you realize this, confidently stop the flow of these destructive thoughts and look around, finally giving your precious attention to the world around you.

Let’s try to act as follows: catch yourself in the moment of self-digging and, by stopping this stream of destructive thoughts, acknowledge to yourself that it really exists. Then identify the source of your anxiety within this stream — that is, the problem itself — and only then ask yourself how you can avoid repeating it in the future. After that, analyze everything again and draw the appropriate conclusions. Together, these actions will ultimately form a small but important step from self-destructive self-pity to constructive self-analysis.

The conclusion we can draw today is this: if wise self-analysis becomes a regular part of our daily routine, we will not have to rely on it only in emergency situations. Why is that? Because by ceasing to torment ourselves with self-reflection, we will ultimately avoid pushing ourselves to the brink, thus opening the path to a conscious and happy future. And that is clearly worth it, isn’t it, dear friends?