Praise slides off and criticism sticks
One critical comment outweighs ten good ones, every time.
Courses
See what you would learn
Answer your inner critic fairly instead of just believing it.
A course on the voice that dismisses what you do well. It covers telling useful self-reflection from harsh judgement, responding to the critic with something more accurate, and keeping the standards without the contempt.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I want to respond more fairly to my inner critic. I often dismiss what I do well and want to separate useful self-reflection from harsh, unhelpful judgments.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
- Best for
- Confidence
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- When is the critic loudest: after mistakes, before challenges, or when someone praises you?
- Does it push you to work harder, or stop you from trying?
- Is there a recent moment you would like to replay with a fairer voice?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
You call it high standards
The voice feels like the reason you do well, and it is mostly the reason you feel terrible.
It stops you starting
The verdict arrives before the attempt, so the attempt often does not happen.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06Where the critic comes from
Old voices, protection and the belief that harshness is what keeps you safe.
Its two jobs
The useful signal inside self-criticism and the punishment wrapped around it.
Catching it in the act
Noticing the shift from noticing a mistake to condemning yourself for it.
A fairer reply
Answering with what a fair observer would say, not with forced positivity.
Standards without contempt
Why self-compassion improves performance rather than lowering the bar.
Practice in your week
Working with the moments that reliably summon the voice.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Separate reflection from attack
Tell the part of the voice that has a point from the part that only has a tone.
Respond with accuracy
Answer a harsh judgement with a truer account of what happened.
Keep standards, drop contempt
Hold yourself to a bar without treating misses as evidence of worthlessness.
Ideas this course corrects
Being hard on yourself keeps you sharp
Harsh self-criticism predicts avoidance and burnout, not improvement. Accurate feedback does the sharpening.
Self-compassion is self-indulgence
It is accuracy with kindness. People who practise it try again sooner after failing.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A course on the voice that dismisses what you do well. It covers telling useful self-reflection from harsh judgement, responding to the critic with something more accurate, and keeping the standards without the contempt. It sits under Confidence in the Life & growth part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I want to respond more fairly to my inner critic. I often dismiss what I do well and want to separate useful self-reflection from harsh, unhelpful judgments.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.