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Constantly beating myself up about things.

Basically, I did A Level Mathematics, Physics and ICT and came out with CDE decided to not go to university because didn't think I had good enough grades for it. Recently decided that after four years out of education I am going back and have an unconditional offer from University of Liverpool for a foundation degree. I really want to get back into education and no longer work in retail which I have not found very challenging.

But the problem is I am constantly comparing myself to other people that have already finished their degree and are ahead of me because that's where I could be now & I look at people and think they've done so much better than me at something. I am always criticizing myself and putting myself down because I didn't get the best A Levels. And for some reason I find myself seeing what people have posted on social media sites about their life and being jelous and then getting annoyed at myself. Don't really know how to stop doing it.

Reply 1

Gwilym101

Original post by Anonymous

I know the sentiments.

I have an undergraduate and post-graduate degree yet in over a year I have spectacularly failed to get a job in the field I studied. Because of my gap year, my postgrad and the year and a half of failure I'm about 3 years behind in life compared with seemingly everyone. Everyone I know seems further ahead in their life than me and made me (occassionally still does make me) bloody miserable.

First off though, what you got at A-level can have little to know baring on what you get for your degree. I got Cs and Ds at A-level but left uni with a 2:1 and my MSc was at Imperial College, studying at uni is completely different to studying at school so you may well flourish.

The beating yourself up. I do it too, ultimately it gets you know where and it really helps to talk to someone just because they will say stuff that breaks you out of that spiral.

One thing to consider. The stuff you say to yourself when you beat yourself up... would you ever say anything like it to someone you liked? Would you say it to anyone other than yourself? For most people the answer would be "no, not in a million years". The sort of things people beat themselves up with, would be classed as criminal levels of abuse if someone did that to another person.

Do anything it takes to stop yourself speaking to yourself in that manner.