Why We Consider Ourselves Failures (But Actually Aren't) episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 18, 2026 · 6 MIN

Why We Consider Ourselves Failures (But Actually Aren't)

from The School of Life · host tscol

Many of us are haunted by a harsh inner critic: one who is particularly fond of telling us that we are a loser. Here’s why such a critic exists – and how we can silence them. Enjoying our YouTube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://9qq0.short.gy/aQ2Y3L Learn, heal and grow; get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://9qq0.short.gy/jsS8MH FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects in our articles, here: https://9qq0.short.gy/PyUUiC “Some of us are continually haunted by a sense that we are losers. Acquaintances may speak well of us. Colleagues may praise us, but there is an inner critic inside who has a very different verdict: you are a piece of nonsense, you are laughable, you are repulsive. This critic is extremely assiduous and determined, they are a world champion of sorts. They’ll get into an argument with our best friend to insist that no, despite what they think, we really are awful; they’ll disregard the evidence of a promotion or surprise birthday party and keep returning to the same theme: you are repulsive…” MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-school-of-life-for-business/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Deanca Rensyta https://www.deancarensyta.com/showreel Title animation produced in collaboration with Graeme Probert www.gpmotion.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of us are haunted by a harsh inner critic: one who is particularly fond of telling us that we are a loser. Here’s why such a critic exists – and how we can silence them. Enjoying our YouTube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://9qq0.short.gy/aQ2Y3L Learn, heal and grow; get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://9qq0.short.gy/jsS8MH FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects in our articles, here: https://9qq0.short.gy/PyUUiC “Some of us are continually haunted by a sense that we are losers. Acquaintances may speak well of us. Colleagues may praise us, but there is an inner critic inside who has a very different verdict: you are a piece of nonsense, you are laughable, you are repulsive. This critic is extremely assiduous and determined, they are a world champion of sorts. They’ll get into an argument with our best friend to insist that no, despite what they think, we really are awful; they’ll disregard the evidence of a promotion or surprise birthday party and keep returning to the same theme: you are repulsive…” MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-school-of-life-for-business/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Deanca Rensyta https://www.deancarensyta.com/showreel Title animation produced in collaboration with Graeme Probert www.gpmotion.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NOW PLAYING

Why We Consider Ourselves Failures (But Actually Aren't)

0:00 6:37

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The School of Life?

This episode is 6 minutes long.

When was this The School of Life episode published?

This episode was published on June 18, 2026.

What is this episode about?

Many of us are haunted by a harsh inner critic: one who is particularly fond of telling us that we are a loser. Here’s why such a critic exists – and how we can silence them. Enjoying our YouTube videos? Get full access to all our audio content,...

Can I download this The School of Life episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!