Our Own Worst Enemy

Criticism is an inevitable element in today’s world. Whether it comes from your parents or your friends, it’s a social aspect of life that people can’t seem to escape. However, the biggest criticizer for anyone is themselves. Our brain is a miraculous part of our bodies and quite literally our foundation for everything that we do, but positives aren’t the only factors that take residence in our brain. People, especially kids, are constantly growing up today with negative thoughts and feelings about themselves in their subconscious. We have grown up to believe that this is just plain normalcy, and while some of it is, other parts are way too enlarged. To put this in example, I for one have been criticizing myself from day one. No matter if it’s school, sports, or even just a social situation, my brain is constantly throwing out critiques. I try my best to ignore them as much as possible, but I think I can speak for everyone that that’s easier said than done. I play basketball here at the Groton Dunstable High School and even though it’s extremely exhilarating, it can also be a punch at anyone’s ego. There are a lot of times where I have thrown a bad pass, or missed a shot, or even just didn’t hustle enough and these moments will be on a never-ending loop in my mind for the rest of the night guaranteed. However, when thinking about these mistakes I have made, it doesn’t seem to be a big imprint on my life at all, and it isn’t. I think a lot of people have this idea that everything matters so much more than it actually does, and I know this because I am a victim of it. Even though myself and others are aware of how little their past mistakes matter, we still ponder over them. Why? I for one believe that it’s a controlling element. I don’t control what other people say or do, but I can control what I do. If I make a mistake, a little alarm goes off in my mind, telling me that “I am better than that” or asking me “Why did you do that?” Since I am the only one who can control my actions, when something doesn’t go the way that I want it to, I get mad at myself and start throwing out critiques to become a ‘better self’. When these mistakes happen to me or anyone, it’s easy for us to let our mind drown us with the never-ending critiques out of our own volition. However, our mindset towards these mistakes and critiques is the factor that needs to change in these situations. When we make an error in any situation, we need to look at that mistake head on and say, ‘good.’ This will allow our mind to invite in this error that we have made into our minds and take it as it is. Not only then will we be able to attack it straight on and fix the error that we have conjured up. I have used this method time and time again during basketball. When I have thrown a bad pass or missed a shot, I sit on the bench and invite that fault into my mind for it to be attacked and later proven wrong. I believe that this is a method that could benefit many people in the long run. It may not help everyone, but people will never be able to fix their past faults if they don’t look at situations straight on. Only then will we be able to conquer our own worst enemy.