Are you Kind To Yourself?

When you’ve had a tough week, perhaps the kids get poorly, you’re not getting much sleep for whatever reason, you feel behind on your work, you have that feeling that you should be doing more or that you’re not doing it good enough….How do you talk to yourself? What thoughts are in your head? Are you hard on yourself? Are you self-critical?  

Now, think about what you would say to your best friend of a family member, who confides in you that they are struggling, that they feel overloaded, that they feel like they can’t cope with all that’s going on in their lives - how does it differ from what you’re saying to yourself?

I’d bet you’d say take a break, go easy on yourself, you have a lot going on right now, you’re doing great, you’ve got this, I’m here for you, it’s ok to ask for help.

What’s stopping you giving yourself the wonderfully supportive advice that you would offer your friends and family? How would life feel if you were able to follow your own caring advice that comes from a place of love.

Self-compassion is simply treating ourselves as we would treat a loved one of a friend when things go wrong.

So next time you’re being hard on yourself for not getting the washing done, or not having sent that email yet, or for the house being a mess. Think about what you would say to your bestie and say it to yourself! And listen, because you are full of good advice  

My inbox is open if you want to talk more about mindfulness, self-compassion and meditation.