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As with any practice, consistency in small repetitions reshapes one’s mindset and, over time, ingrains the changed behaviour, Ms Mah said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “So that even if people make a mistake, they no longer tell themselves, ‘I’m a failure’. Rather, ‘this was a learning lesson for me, this was an experiment that didn’t go so well but I took the good things from it, and I’ll reshape it into a better one next time’.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “We shift the critique from an identity attack into self-leadership.”<\/span><\/p>\n The latter involves intentionally guiding one’s thoughts, feelings and actions to achieve goals, rather than relying solely on external direction.<\/span><\/p>\n When he was finally able to confront and work with his self-criticism, Mr Tan the leadership coach started The Wholehearted Podcast in 2022 after procrastinating for two years.<\/span><\/p>\n He recognises that his inner critic, which questioned his motivation, <\/strong>was beneficial in getting his podcast off the ground and now, into its fourth year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The self-improvement podcast features varied professionals from therapists to human resource leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n Once honed, his critical voice kept him focused on his values and beliefs, and from being swayed by fleeting impulses to give up.<\/span><\/p>\n “(My self-critic) makes sure that when I launch something, I really want to do it, and it’s not for the sake of the moment,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n “I told myself I’m not going to give up on this without good grounds. I’m not going to give up because life gets too busy.”<\/span><\/p>\n Like Mr Tan, rather than instinctively turn away from excessively critical beliefs about myself whenever they surfaced, learning to be curious about them brought me fulfilling personal and professional growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With consistency, self-compassion became almost as natural as self-criticism for me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n