24. Someone’s Trash-Talking You

Not to make you paranoid, but someone at work is trash-talking you right now. They are saying things like, “You’re not as good as others,” “You aren’t competent,” “You don’t deserve your position,” and “You’re never going to pro­gress in your job.” The reality is, the person bad-mouthing you is . . . YOU!

We would never accept someone saying such disrespectful things about someone else and we would be crushed if someone said them to us. Then why would we accept that same bad-mouthing from ourselves? Be careful what you tell yourself. You don’t have to worry half as much about the person backstab­bing you at work as you do about the person in the mirror who’s murdering your self-worth.

What am I telling myself that’s undermining me?