Give Yourself Some Slack: Self-Compassion (Part 2)
Self-compassion is a key part of cutting ourselves some slack - it's the combination of empathy and action. We're doing the things that'll let us put ourselves at the front of the line when it comes to self-care.
But self-compassion isn't easy.
When we're being self-compassionate we're trying to relate to ourselves in a way that's forgiving, accepting, and loving - many of us have grown up with the view that the only way for us to push ourselves forward is by being overly critical of ourselves.
A typical self-compassion practice has three parts:
Observing what is going on right now - that's mindfulness
Actively developing and building a healthier self-perspective (self-kindness)
Connection with others (often called “common humanity”)
In this episode, we'll be going over Self-Kindness and Common Humanity as well as looking at how we can combine all three of the ideas.
This Episode's Top Tips
Self-Kindness is about understanding that we have unconditional worth and accepting ourselves even with our short-comings.
One way we can practice self-kindness is by being kind to ourselves with our words - one would that can cause lots of harm is the word "should", which often brings connotations of shame and unworthiness.
Common-Humanity is about connecting with those around us and understand that what we're going through isn't unique. We're all part of the human experience and even when we're feeling alone we can know that there are people who have also gone through what we're going through.
When we put together mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity you can create your own practice of self-compassion. When we're being self-compassionate we're able to cut ourselves some slack and learn to be happier with who we are.
