The Intrinsic Value of Treating Yourself Like a Good Friend Rather Than a Bullying Enemy

In a confidence-boosting animation, the gently insightful School of Life posits the question as to why one is so much harder on yourself than one would be to a friend. When a friend makes a mistake, most people would not immediately call that person a name or tell them that they are useless, but rather would offer support and ideas to help avoid such mistakes in the future. Yet, when it comes to one’s own mistakes, it’s easier to be an enemy, verbally and mentally flagellating oneself to exhaustion, than it is to become a good friend to yourself.

The person we may find it hardest to be kind and sympathetic to is, surprisingly, ourselves. Yet being a friend to ourselves provides the only viable basis for living an emotionally fulfilled life.