You’ll spend more time with your own opinion of you than anyone else’s. Make it a fair one.

The commentary running in your head logs more hours with you than any friend, teacher or parent ever will. That makes its tone a bigger factor than almost anything else, and most people would not accept from a friend what they say to themselves daily without noticing. Fair is the useful word here rather than kind. Fair means accurate both ways, willing to name a mistake and equally willing to count something that went well.

Catch one harsh line this week and check whether it is actually true. Rewrite it as something you could back with evidence. Accuracy usually turns out gentler than the original.