“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.”
~ Dalai Lama
How would you treat a friend?
One of the best ways to exercise self-compassion is to treat yourself like a good friend. It’s easy to give our friends compassion, understanding, love, forgiveness when they fail or make a mistake. It’s much more difficult for us to do the same for ourselves when we make a mistake.
So, be nice to yourself!
Give Yourself a (Self-Compassion) Break
- Practice Mindfulness – understand that everyone makes mistakes
- Be Gentle – focus on what you can learn from your mistakes
- Be Honest – evaluate yourself with honestly
Changing Your Critical Self-Talk
- Notice when your inner critic is chastising you and what it’s saying. Take note of the words, tone, etc. (Would you talk to your best friend that way? Hell no!)
- Gently, not harshly, tell this inner critic that you understand the circumstances, but not to worry, all is well. Dr. Martha Beck identifies this inner critic as our Inner Lizard. Feel free to name this rascal because she exists for all of us. I’ve named mine Lulu. (“Yes, Lulu, I know you think I’m a klutz, dummy, fool, really I'm not. But thank you for sharing”).
- Why Self-Compassion? Because how has being mean to yourself working out so far?
“When we give ourselves compassion, we are opening our hearts in a way that can transform our lives.” – Kristen Neff
My name is Nancy McKay and I coach women, most of them are over 50, who are going though a major transition in their lives and don’t know what the hell happened. They’re feeling lost and afraid because they don’t know what their future looks like. I help them figure out how to feel happy and at peace with their life.
Interested to find out if coaching is right for you?
If you’re looking for a coach that will inspire, motivate and empower you AND that knows how you feel – we should talk.
One of best compliments I’ve received was “You helped me in seeing things from a different lens – I can’t believe I learned so much in one meeting! I can’t wait to see what else I learn from you.” Helping women make a shift in their thinking and in their lives thrills me to pieces and drives everything I do.
If you’d like to schedule a FREE Discovery Call, give me a shout!
