Self Compassion!

How kind are you, to yourself?

Expressing compassion for others seems to be far easier than being compassionate towards ourselves. One thing I have learned recently is that we all have a natural tendency to be hard on ourselves. We can doubt and criticize ourselves at times and what we all know, is that the inner critic has nothing of value to say, ever. Having compassion for ourselves means that we embrace and accept the fact that we are human. If you are a breathing, living being then you are going to experience at times... hurt, frustration, mistakes made by yourself and others... and a feeling of falling short of your own ideals. This is a reality shared by us all. Self compassion is about being gentle with yourself when you feel inadequate or 'not good enough'. Creating a judgement free space is the ultimate gift we can give ourselves.

Here are three ways to practice greater self compassion... Try taking a balanced approach By applying mindfulness practice, observing your thoughts and feelings as they are, without trying to suppress or deny them, allows you to observe the thoughts with greater clarity, knowing that they rise and fall and they also pass. Pay attention Listen to the word tracks you say to yourself when you do feel inadequate. Would you say that to a friend? By being aware of your language both internally (your monkey mind chatter) and externally (what you say about yourself to others) you can begin to choose kind and gentle phrases to say to yourself. Physical gestures and practices Treat yourself with love. Actively nurturing yourself in times of need is a sign that you know how to be compassionate towards yourself. This could something as simple as putting your hand over your heart saying loving affirmations to yourself in place of criticism. It's also about taking care of yourself when you need rest and space. Just by being aware of how critical you are towards yourself can bring about an opportunity to start making changes. See if you can come up with some endings to these sentence starters... When I hear myself being critical of myself I can say ... When I feel tired I know that I need to ... When I hear my own voice putting myself down out loud to others I can ...

Well Being @ Work Tip!

Be aware of how often you think critically about yourself. Speak to yourself as you would a close friend.