❤️Anyone else learning to be more self-compassionate?❤️
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☀️Self-compassion = approaching, treating, and speaking to ourselves with warmth, understanding, and kindness, especially when we are dealing with a difficult situation or disappointment.
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I recently listened to episode 17 of The Happiness Lab podcast and was reminded of how powerful self-compassion is and how far I’ve come in my development of self-compassion.
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I spent much of my late teens and twenties being self-critical. At the time, I thought that was the path to achievement. Driven by perfectionism and anxiousness, I did not have very friendly conversations in my mind. Ironically, I consider myself a kind and compassionate person, but I missed the mark big time on offering myself that same compassion and kindness.
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I became so much more self-compassionate during my late twenties and into my thirties. I remember sharing during a mindfulness training how much more friendly of a place my own mind had become.
Now, when I mess up or when I am overwhelmed, I am SO much more understanding toward myself, and I am even able to find humor in many situations.
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I have learned that I recover so much quicker and make progress so much faster when I offer myself warmth, understanding, and kindness. I still absolutely own any wrongdoings or shortcomings, but rather than meeting myself with harsh words, I acknowledge the work that needs to be done and offer myself understanding for why I fell short.
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Most importantly, I want to teach my daughter, Lucy, to be self-compassionate. I want her to feel the POWER that comes from self-compassion. I want to offer her compassion through my parenting, and I want to show her what self-compassion looks like by the way I behave.
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❤️If you are struggling with self-criticism, I see you, and I feel you. Self-compassion is something I work on every day.❤️
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Please check out the Self-Compassion Meditation in the blog to practice a little self-compassion today.