A chat at an airfield turned into strong opinions about a news story, a baby injured by a robotic lawnmower.
It quickly turned into a round of “I would never leave my child unattended like that.”
And just like that, we were in the territory of what I call verbal condemnation.
It shows up in the dog world too.
“I would never rehome my dog.”
“My dog would never bite.”
“I only feed raw.”
These statements might sound factual and virtuous on the surface, but underneath, they often come from fear. Fear of pain. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of something similar happening to us.
In this mindset episode, I walk through how verbal condemnation works, what psychological defense mechanisms might be at play (think: projection, denial, displacement), and why it stings so much when we’re on the receiving end.
I also offer a few ways to recognize it in yourself, not to feel guilty about it, but to get curious about what it might be trying to protect you from.
Awareness is always the first step toward actually doing something about what scares us.
Want to learn to brush off negative comments more easily?
Recover from negativity faster?
Book a free consult to explore what your version of “getting the most out of life” could actually look like.
