“Be kind to yourself” they said…

“Be kind to yourself” started to lose its meaning for me recently.

Of course I know I 🚩“should”🚩 be kind to myself, but a part of me felt a bit disconnected to that statement.

Interestingly though as I’m writing this post I'm getting ready to host a group session today around Self-Compassion (here I am feeling a little nervous but excited 📸)! In my preparation for this session, I felt a lightbulb switch on in my brain and a deeper understanding of self-compassion in me has emerged 💡

I credit a lot of this information to the Self-compassion pioneer herself, Kristin Neff 📚

Here’s what I’ve learned so far...

✨ 1. Self-compassion does not have to be complicated. It’s about unconditionally turning towards ourselves with kindness, warmth and encouragement vs. judgment, criticism and coldness.

✨ 2. Struggling is an inevitable and important part of the shared human experience. Whether we can see it or not, everyone is or has struggled in their own way. We are never alone in this.

✨ 3. Self-compassion is acknowledging and accepting every part of yourself, especially the parts that feel “difficult” to love.

✨ 4. We are not our emotions - we are experiencing emotions. We can practice observing our emotions from a distance instead of over-identifying with our emotions. This could sound something like…”I’m noticing some anxious emotions” instead of “I am anxious”.

✨ 5. You cannot shame yourself into action. Self-compassion creates the foundation for growth.

Do any of these resonate with you like they did with me?