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Boost Your Self-Compassion
Because you’re worth it.
Self-Compassion.
It’s a word I think about daily. The only reason I think about it that often is because I physically see the word written on a sheet of paper. You see, I’m a visual learner. If I see something — whether it be a word, a picture, a diagram — I am 100% more likely to remember and acknowledge it.
In the case of “self-compassion”, I have the word taped to my calendar, which I look at several times a day.
It hasn’t always been that way. In fact, I’ve lived most of my 40 years of life without practicing self-compassion. I understood what the word meant — at least I thought I did — but it wasn’t something I practiced in my daily life.
As a mom, I was always so busy taking care of everyone else that I didn’t stop to think about what I needed or how I could better nurture myself.
There were many times that I was struggling and feeling inadequate. But I always decided to ignore my feelings and “push through”. What I didn’t realize was that — over time — living like that created a buildup of negative feelings and emotions.
So what exactly is self-compassion?
This is so important. Because without a true understanding of what self-compassion is or how we should use it in our daily lives, how are we supposed to practice it?
Self-compassion is showing yourself kindness and love when you are having feelings of failure or inadequacy. In the same way you would be compassionate towards a family member who is going through a hard time. Or show compassion for a friend who feels like they failed at something.
Dr. Kristin Neff is well known for her book titled “Self-Compassion — The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself”. In the book, she discusses three elements of Self-Compassion: Self Kindness, Common Humanity, and Mindfulness.
Here’s a deeper explanation of what these elements mean.
Self-Kindness
Recognize that life is hard. You will fail at things. You will feel inadequate at times. You will experience…
