My own worst critic...

The comment made by Cissyn hit home for me. It's true that nobody else's opinion should matter, except for your own. And that everyone's worst critic is themselves. If you're happy with yourself and comfortable with who you are, there's nothing people can say or do that can ever put you down.

But how many of us are happy with who we are? There'll always be comparisons with others... "she's prettier", "he's smarter", "he earns more"...

If you're not able to accept who you are and love yourself, how will anyone else love you? Or even if they do, your doubts about yourself may eventually drive them away, as you constantly put yourself down. As you ask yourself why this person actually loves you... as if you are undeserving of his/her love. The more you feel this way, the harder you tend to try to make him/her love you, and sometimes the harder you try to 'improve' yourself, the worse the situation gets. Does this make sense to anyone??

That's the problem with being a perfectionist. Being a perfectionist does not mean that you don't accept flaws. It's usually true that you are absolutely tolerant & understanding of other people's flaws, but simply do not accept your own. Which makes it really difficult to be happy with yourself. So the answer is to stop being a perfectionist... Easier said than done...! :)