Why You're SO Hard On Yourself, Based On Your Zodiac Sign
You've got unreasonable standards for yourself.
Being self-critical isn’t a bad thing, but when it gets to the point where we’re constantly down on ourselves, that’s when it becomes a problem.
When you’re self-critical you tend to think things through, you’re more open to suggestions and feedback from others, and you really listen to what other people have to say. You’re self-aware; you know what you need to improve on and how to do it.
Your ego doesn't get in the way of constructive advice nor are you completely taken aback when someone offers to help you. You get something from your failures as well as your successes.
However, when you go from being self-critical to hypercritical of yourself, that changes the entire dynamic of your personality.
While you may forgive others easily, we don’t forgive ourselves for anything. No matter how talented you are, you think that you’re not talented enough. You have trouble believing compliments but you need constant reassurances. You’re too frightened to ask for help.
When we’re hard on ourselves, we tend to feel responsible for other people’s happiness — as if it is actually in our hands and we feel tremendous pressure not to let anybody down or disappoint them.
As we become more critical of ourselves, we tend to focus on every action we take or should have taken and these actions grow in importance in our mind. Not telling the host goodbye at a party morphs into a major social faux pas.
The more down on yourself that you become, the harder it is to get back on track and build up to a healthy self-esteem. So, when you ask yourself "why am I so hard on myself?" you must pick yourself up.
Astrology knows what some of the triggers are for being overly critical of oneself. When you’re able to step back and see why you’re being hypercritical, you may be able to take a step back and try to change the overly self-critical thoughts you have to ones of self-love and self-acceptance.
Here’s the real reason you’re so hard on yourself, based on your zodiac sign.
ARIES (March 21 - April 19)
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You're very hard on yourself due to your competitive nature. It's not enough for you to do well at something, you've got to be the best. And when you're not, you drive yourself to distraction thinking of what went wrong, what you could have done better and if you can get a re-match or do-over. Sometimes you need to accept that you did your best and be happy with that. Being competitive is a good quality to have but it shouldn't rule your entire life.
Read: The 13 Brutal Truths About Loving An Aries, As Written By One
TAURUS (April 20 - May 20)
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You're hard on yourself when you don't act right away or in the right way. You tend to think about things thoroughly before doing them but sometimes by the time you get around to taking action, it's too late. Sometimes you do what you wanted to do but it didn't materialize in the way you envisioned and you get down on yourself about that. Try to accept that you're on your own schedule and if something didn't work out, it just wasn't meant to be.
Read: The 5 Brutal Truths About Loving A Taurus, As Written By One
GEMINI (May 21 - June 20)
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You know commitment isn't your thing but there are times you wish you could do it. You get down on yourself for choosing partners who are ultimately unsuitable, unavailable, and highly inappropriate as if your subconscious is deliberately keeping you single. A part of you wants to settle down but another part fears that settling down means getting boring and you definitely don't want that.
Read: The 13 Brutal Truths About Loving A Gemini, As Written By One
CANCER (June 21 - July 22)
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You get down on yourself because you think that you're giving too much to other people and you're not getting the same amount of attention and care back. There's nothing you can do about being an incredibly caring and intuitive person but you can hold back just a little on newcomers in your life. You don't have to give them everything you have to offer right when you meet them; instead, let them prove to you that they're worth it.
Read: The 5 Brutal Truths About Loving A Cancer, As Written By One
LEO (July 23 - August 22)
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You get very down on yourself when you don't feel that you're getting all the attention and praise that you deserve. You wonder what you're doing that is preventing people from praising you. You need to not be quite so dependent on others for your feelings of self-esteem and you certainly shouldn't beat yourself up if you're not getting enough depositors in your own personal praise bank.
Read: 6 Brutal Truths About Loving A Leo, As Written By One
VIRGO (August 23 - September 22)
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No matter how well you're doing or how well you're doing it, you think you should be doing better. It's those impossible standards you have for yourself. You need to be able to see that you're right where you need to be and that you're achieving everything that you need to achieve. Take a breath, settle down, and stop all your frantic work. You're doing great, now congratulate yourself and celebrate your successes.
Read: 7 Brutal Truths About Loving A Virgo (As Written By A Virgo)
LIBRA (September 23 - October 22)
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You take friendship very seriously and you want to be the best friend that your friends have ever had. But you're only human and there's only so much of you; not everyone is going to get your very best friendship. You worry about what people think and you obsess about the people who don't like you. You wonder what you can do to change their minds. You need to let go of worrying so much about others and just focus on being a good friend to those who matter to you the most.
Read: 11 Brutal Truths About Loving A Libra, As Written By One
SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21)
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You get down on yourself for what you think of as your weaknesses, aka your vulnerability. Just because you're strong, it doesn't mean that you don't have times when you're scared or feeling sensitive. You have an idea of yourself as a warrior but you need to accept that there are many aspects to your personality. You're brave when you're strong but you're also incredibly courageous when you're compassionate with yourself.
Read: 14 Brutal Truths About Loving A Scorpio, As Written By One
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 21)
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You're hard on yourself when you think you've missed out on something. You're the kind of person who loves to explore and experience but no one has the time or the ability to see everything the world has to offer. You can't stand that you don't have superhuman powers and that there are times when you don't visit every country or experience every culture. Appreciate what you have been able to do and see that there's still plenty more for you to do.
Read: 7 Brutal Truths About Loving A Sagittarius, As Written By One
CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 19)
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You're terrified of failing that you constantly second guess your decisions and you get paralyzed that you'll make a mistake that will ruin everything. You need to make peace with failure. It's going to happen and you're going to survive. Hopefully, you'll learn from your mistakes and become better and more confident in what you're doing. Don't look at your fails as the destruction of everything but as the beginning of improvement and knowledge.
Read: 7 Brutal Truths About Loving A Capricorn, As Written By One
AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18)
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You know you're not like anyone else and you're mostly okay about it, but there are times when you get down on yourself for not being like everyone else and not having the same kinds of dreams that they do. It's not easy being a leader and it can be hard to follow your own truth, but your uniqueness is what makes you special. Having such a distinct point of view is a tremendous gift and one that makes you successful, no matter how uncommon they may be.
Read: 7 Brutal Truths About Loving An Aquarius, As Written By One
PISCES (February 19 - March 20)
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Sometimes you get down on yourself for being a loner. Not everyone can take being alone but you thrive in it — you can pursue your creative projects, get lost in the world of your imagination and even decompress and rejuvenate. But you feel that you get a little too comfortable being alone and that you should seek out others. Being able to enjoy your own company is a great thing and as long as you don't reject others out of habit and are open to spending time with friends and family, you're alright. You just do you and don't worry about it.
Read: 7 Brutal Truths About Loving A Pisces, As Written By One