Reg,
Notice how the only people that have responded to your post are two of the resident weirdos at TreeBuzz; Herr Phloem and Herr Wilt.
Both often make superfluous posts that are moribund and bereft of ideas yet they still manage to carry themselves with a serene and quiet dignity, much like that of bankrupt stockbrokers.
Seriously though Reg, 'being oneself' is not effortless - it involves a long struggle and a ruthless kind of honesty that most people would rather avoid. Being self critical is the mark of a very deep thinker, which has its advantages and disadvantages.
One might say, 'I was never convinced I was a good arborist' so the more one strives to be a good arborist (advantage) the more one becomes aware of one's own failings as an arborist (disadvantage).
Now, be warned, self criticism is a very different animal from self loathing - in which vague feelings of melancholy can turn into something much worse - despair. Despair can manifest itself in the form of neurotic, anxious and incoherent posts at Treebuzz. Thankfully no-one here has reached that stage, although someone got very near a few months back.
The only remedy is faith, faith in your own abilities.
