Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

Why do we never seem to be kind enough to ourselves?  When I see it in my grown kids, I feel sad.  Yet we all seem to struggle with this critical, comparative voice in our heads.  I can see now how destructive it was to me and how I hesitated about actions that would have benefited me.  But watching my kids not think they are "good" enough, or attractive enough or smart enough is devastating.  I read recently that girls until the age of six think they can do anything, but after that height they begin to think they aren't as smart as boys.  Even though they have better grades, test scores and succeed more often.  Something in our culture tells them they aren't smart, and they don't try math and engineering and science because they think they don't have the brains for it.  And boys persevere because they think they are smarter, no matter what their actual achievements.  Parents struggle long and hard to make their kids confident, but then their peers take over and swallow up the joyous belief in self.  Being aware helps, but not when school, technology and media subtly whisper one thing to boys and the other to girls.